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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26529259">I swore to god I'd never fall in love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bicalamity/pseuds/bicalamity'>bicalamity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tell yourself you can always stop [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coming Out, Draco Malfoy &amp; Pansy Parkinson Friendship, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hermione Granger &amp; Harry Potter Friendship, Internalized Homophobia, Minor Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Minor Draco Malfoy/Pansy Parkinson, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:27:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>317,183</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26529259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bicalamity/pseuds/bicalamity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>For all intents and purposes, Pansy Parkinson knows what she's meant to do in life- the whole pureblood marriage and all that, but its never really been what she wants.  She's never been with who she wants.  So when she's presented with someone who she knows she shouldn't want, what happens when she starts to fall?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Pansy Parkinson, Hermione Granger/Pansy Parkinson, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tell yourself you can always stop [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967635</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>688</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. God has a sense of humor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Slytherin common room seemed a little colder than it usually was, almost a little bit gloomy which yeah, if outside prying eyes were to see it, they may think that's always the case but it's not. Pansy knows this, it's always had a sort of life to it that has just seemed to leave in the recent months. It’s a little bit sad, but she’ll never actually admit it, that their childhoods almost seem to be coming to some kind of terrible end, she can feel the darkness looming just like everybody else, she just chooses to ignore it, because maybe it’ll stave it off if she does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, are you even paying attention right now?” Pansy shook her head and glanced over to where Draco was sitting, tie undone, feet on the table, normally well groomed hair a complete mess. He was actually stressed about something, she couldn’t believe it. She’d even go so far as to say he may be scared, but she didn’t feel like getting hexed today, it seemed like a chore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I missed that, please repeat it?” She asked and Draco rolled his eyes and huffed. She knew he eventually would say what was on his mind, but sometimes it's like pulling teeth.  And it's occasionally not something she’s willing to do, but it's not like she has any plans right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was saying that over the summer I overheard our parents talking, they wanted to make our betrothal a little more… real. At least my parents do, but it didn’t exactly sound like yours were protesting.” He explained and Pansy blinked, a little taken aback by the news. She of course knew this was coming, she wasn’t by any means stupid, and she absolutely knew that most pure-blood families do an official betrothal, but it rubbed her the wrong way.  They’d been doing everything </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the change made no sense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that's bloody ridiculous! We’ve been doing everything right, we’ve been following all their rules, why tighten down now?” She snapped, feeling herself getting a little bit heated. She loosened her tie and rested her head in her hands. It didn’t make any sense, and she knew it for a fact. Over the last couple of years she had been nothing if not completely and utterly obedient to what her parents have said, and this felt almost like a punishment for something she didn’t even do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… It might have something to do with your parents currently not having an heir. The Parkinson name is going to die with you.” Draco pointed out and Pansy lifted her head just enough to level a glare at him. It must be so easy, being a man in the Pureblood world. Just find a woman and spit out an heir and you’re hailed as royalty. Women on the other hand are basically seen as property, sold off to the highest bidder. Pansy guesses she may be a bit lucky in the fact that it was Draco she was unofficially betrothed to. He didn’t have any romantic inclinations towards her, never expected anything, and had been a perfect gentleman most of the time. But if their marriage goes through, that will no longer be the case, they can no longer just ‘pretend’. The Malfoys will insist on an heir, and Pansy can’t bring herself to enjoy the thought of either of those things. Motherhood and having to sleep with Draco Malfoy, they sounded like a nightmare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's an outdated mindset.” She said, and Draco sighed and put his feet down, trying to catch Pansy’s eye. She wasn’t in the mood for this right now, she didn’t want to talk to him about this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's the truth. Unless you can find a man who would marry you and let you keep your last name.” He snorted and Pansy stiffened at this. How was she supposed to respond? If it were up to her, no man would take her name as it just didn’t make sense. Why marry someone she had no attraction towards? But she knew she couldn’t say this to Draco, she hadn’t told anyone about it yet, for fear of it getting back to her family and her having to deal with… all that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never know, Draco. Maybe someone out there is willing to take it.” Pansy muttered, brushing some of her hair out of her eye. Draco seemed amused by this, like the thought of that actually happening was absurd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No man of good stature would ever stoop as low as to take a woman’s name, Parkinson. You know it, I know it.” He said, as though Pansy was stupid. She wasn’t stupid, and that comment was enough to keep her irritation going for </span>
  <em>
    <span>hours</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  So, it was at that moment that she decided she was done with this conversation, done dealing with Draco’s groaning for the night. She did have better things to be doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.” She said, and stood up, straightening her tie a bit. Draco stood up next to her and caught her wrist, looking confused, as though he hadn’t practically implied she was stupid.  Honestly, sometimes he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>obtuse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… where are you going?” He asked and Pansy rolled her eyes, yanking her wrist back. She sometimes wondered how someone so… Draco could be second in the class. Book smarts seem to be the only thing he’s got about him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's still early, I have to go to the library and finish my Transfiguration homework.” Pansy explained, and that wasn’t a lie, she did have a Transfiguration essay due, but not for another week and Draco knew that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.” He tried and she shook her head at him. Why didn’t he ever realize when he was pushing too much?  It was like he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to piss her off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, if it was anything else I’d tell you. But it's not, so just let it go.” She insisted, her mouth feeling a little sour with the lie.  She honestly wished that she could tell him, but the </span>
  <em>
    <span>thought </span>
  </em>
  <span>of saying the words made her sick to her stomach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.” He finally said and Pansy let out a tiny sigh of relief and grabbed her textbook and quill and made the trip up to the library. She really was making some progress when something out of the corner of her eye pulled her attention away. It was no unusual sight, just Hermione Granger studying, absolutely engrossed in what she was doing. But there was something about the way she looked, eyebrows furrowed, chewing on the end of her quill that was pulling Pansy’s focus. She didn’t by any means like Granger, but she could appreciate the way she’d broken out of the bonds of puberty and came out the other side… better off then she was before. Pansy’s observations apparently did not go unnoticed, because after a moment, instead of staring at Hermione’s side profile, she was met with two annoyed brown eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you staring at?” Hermione snapped and Pansy jumped a little, surprised at the interruption. She wouldn’t say she was staring so much as she was observing. But either way, that tone was disrespectful and Pansy wasn’t going to stand for it. She sneered and put her hands flat on the table, pushing herself up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not staring at anything, Granger. I was just thinking, maybe you should try it sometime.” She snarled and Hermione rolled her eyes and scrunched up her face. When she did that, Pansy thought that she looked just how she had first year, just lacking some of the childhood wonder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m top of the class, how dare you!” Hermione said, her voice going high and shrill.  Merlin, how did </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>find her attractive, Pansy thought, she sounded like a goddamn Mandrake.  They both heard Madam Pince clear her throat and saw her raise a finger to her lips to signify their noise was unacceptable. Pansy leaned forward a little bit, her glare deepening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right how dare I. You’re the one accusing me of things I didn’t even do!” She whispered harshly. Hermione shook her head and huffed.  Did she honestly think that </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>was in the right right now?!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have eyes, Parkinson. I could feel the hate rolling off you from where I’m sitting and when I looked up I saw you. All I’m saying is don’t stare at me.” She whispered back and Pansy clenched her jaw. This was not the time to blow up, she had to keep her cool. She’d gotten one warning, no need for another.  No need to get house points docked right now, because Pansy could guarantee that the Gryffindor would come out of it unscathed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t, but if you’re going to be such a wanker about it then fine, I won’t stare at you.” Pansy snapped, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but this did seem to quell her anger. She walked back to her table and sat back down, clearly still fuming but not wanting to give more energy to it. Pansy sighed and collapsed back into her chair, rubbing her eyes, willing this night to go a little bit faster.</span>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pansy decided not to tell anyone about her row with Granger in the library until the next morning, no need to have everyone all pissy right before going to sleep she certainly wasn’t going to tell Draco. He’d want to go and ‘handle’ it and she wasn’t in the mood for dealing with him griping about getting detention. It didn’t really go any better when she told Daphne and Tracey, but at least no one was getting hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What a fucking ass!” Daphne snapped, and Pansy rolled her eyes because she hadn’t exactly told the whole truth. She had said she wasn’t even looking at Granger, just in her direction so she could save face, she didn’t know how they would’ve reacted if Pansy had said she was staring at </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione fucking Granger.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Probably pretty badly.  Daphne’s reaction to this was unaccounted for, honestly Pansy didn’t expect her to want to stand up for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To her credit I was looking in her direction, but that didn’t mean I was staring and it certainly didn’t warrant her blowing up at me.” She tried and Tracey shook her head and sighed, a little more calm and with more mental clarity than Daphne had, but honestly not much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she gets no credit, I’m so sick of her and the rest of Potter’s crew being able to walk around like they own Hogwarts, it's not fair!” Tracey insisted and Pansy sighed and gave her a withering look. This was not the time nor the place to try and fight that battle.  Mostly because they’d probably never win.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then take it up on your own, Tracey. I was just getting it off my chest.” Pansy insisted and Daphne raised an eyebrow at her.  What had she said that was giving Daphne permission to have </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>facial expression?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not just tell Draco if that's the case?” Daphne asked and Pansy stiffened. ‘Oh because our parents want us to officially become betrothed so they can marry me off and get the money they feel entitled to’ didn’t feel like a very fair thing to say right now.  It felt a bit heavy for right before Herbology.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, like I want to deal with the drama from that.” She tried and Tracey chuckled and elbowed her ribs as they came to a stop outside their classroom. They still had about seven minutes until class started, no point in going in right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, trouble in paradise, Parkinson?” Tracey teased and Pansy clenched her jaw and shot her a glare. That was uncalled for.  She always hated when her friends teased her about her and Draco’s ‘relationship’.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. But I’m allowed to not tell him absolutely everything, there's nothing saying he has to be my confidant.”  Pansy said through gritted teeth.  Daphne gave her a funny look and cocked her head to the side, like she was confused.  She shouldn’t be, Pansy and Draco were around each other as much as needed, but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s your boyfriend…” Daphne said and Pansy shook her head. She was always firm that she and Draco had an arrangement but it wasn’t a relationship and it never would be. That would humanize it far too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No he’s not, and you know that.” She insisted and Daphne rolled her eyes, looking at Pansy like she knew something. That made Pansy feel a bit panicked, she didn’t know why, there was no way that Daphne could know that. But there's always that fear...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.” Daphne tried and Pansy held up a hand to silence her and shook her head. She wasn’t in the mood for this right now.  She’d just wanted to talk about her shitty night, not have her friends try and psychoanalyze her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, can we not talk about that right now.” She snapped and Daphne recoiled a little bit from the sudden change in tone, but Pansy couldn’t bring herself to feel bad. Tracey reached up and rubbed Pansy’s shoulder, as though she could feel the stress rolling off the girl. Tracey's always been good at that, being there for Pansy when she needed it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, fine. Whatever. Lets just go find some seats.” Pansy mumbled, pushing open the door and stopping in her tracks. They were apparently the last ones to make it to class, and there were exactly three seats open. One next to Draco -that felt loaded-, one next to the Patil girl, and one next to… Hermione Granger. Pansy didn’t move fast enough because before she knew it, Daphne had settled next to Pavarti and Tracey next to Draco, leaving her with...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh great.” She mumbled, sinking into her seat beside Granger, who shot her a rather venomous look. That seemed rather uncalled for as Pansy hasn’t actually done anything quite yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you sitting here, Parkinson. Was bothering me in the library not enough for you?” Granger snapped, not lowering her glare. Pansy rolled her eyes and looked at her, wondering if maybe the Gryffindor needed her eyes checked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For someone who claims to be so smart you’re really daft sometimes. Look around and tell me if you see any other open seats.” She said lazily and Granger blinked, like she wasn’t expecting that response. What was she expecting? ‘Oh I’ve come here just to torment you!’ Pansy chuckled a little at that thought</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Granger said quietly and Pansy nodded.  Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>she wasn’t willingly sitting with her, honestly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Merlin, you just love jumping to conclusions.” She muttered and Granger’s jaw dropped a little, as though what Pansy had said was offensive. It wasn’t, it was an observation that had no malice attached to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's hardly fair-.” But Grangers protests were cut off by Professor Sprout standing up and clapping her hands together loudly, once, to signify the start of class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright class! Settle down, settle down. Today… I’ve decided I’m going to assign you a project, with a partner.” The professor said brightly, and Pansy saw Ron Weasley turn in his chair and flash what Pansy thought to be a rather irritating smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi ‘Mione! Wanna be my partner?” He asked, a little bit too loudly, because immediately Professor Sprout cleared her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, now Mr. Weasley. That's not how this project is going to work. You’ll be working with the person you’re seated beside, sort of as if fate has picked your partners today.” She said and Granger cleared her throat. Really, would she rather work with Weasley? He’d have her do all the work and still take half credit, at least Pansy would work. And at least this stops any chance that Draco would try to work with her.  So she wasn’t going to complain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um Professor Sprout-.” Granger’s complaints fell on deaf ears as Professor Sprout simply shot her a large smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss Granger, no objections. You will be studying the properties of a certain plant, and I want a thorough report of it. The depth of this project will take time, so I’ve allotted two months to its completion. You shall spend every day working on this project with your partner, and I don’t wish to hear complaining. Come up to me and I shall assign the plant you and your partner shall work with when you give your names.” She said brightly and Pansy sighed and stood up, following Granger as closely as she could. This proved to be a bit of a difficult task as Granger seemed hellbent on putting some space between them, but that turned out to be null and void as they had to stand next to each other to give their names anyways</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy Parkinson, Hermione Granger.” Pansy muttered and even Professor Sprout looked a little uneasy at this. Not that Pansy blamed her, if anyone had told her that she would be working with Granger who wasn’t a professor she’d probably hex them on the spot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm. Unlikely combination but I appreciate the chance to work at unifying your houses. You two will be working with Whomping Willow, meaning during classes you will be allowed to leave the classroom and go observe the mature one we have on grounds, after you’ve observed the youngling in this pot. Enjoy.” Professor sprout said, hefting a slightly heavy pot into Pansy’s arms. She buckled a little at the weight and Granger took it from her, clearly worried about their project slipping through her fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is a nightmare.” Pansy mumbled, brushing the hair out of her face as Granger set the plant down on the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least we can agree on that. But let's also agree to be strictly professional while working on this, I think both of us would appreciate a high grade.” Granger pointed out. Pansy raised an eyebrow because the lack of an edge on the Gryffindor’s voice was unexpected, she was expecting a little bit of a fight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Well… there's not much we can observe when the sapling is in this state, and not to mention when everybody else is dealing with this commotion.” Pansy said, and Granger nodded, scrutinizing the plant before them. There wasn’t much to see, it was hardly a Whomping Willow right now anyways. Still a baby.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know. But we can research it in the textbook and compare it to the actual specimen.” Granger said, and Pansy rolled her eyes as the noise around her got louder. It was like people were trying to make dealing with this whole arrangement more difficult.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how, pray tell, will we do that? It's so loud in here I can barely think.” Pansy snapped. Granger rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed, like she was conceding to something in her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing tonight?” She asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow. Unexpected, Granger asking that in a slightly respectful tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Pansy asked, and Granger scoffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because if we want to do well we have to actually study, Parkinson. And we should probably do it together to avoid overlap.” She pointed out and Pansy nodded. That made a bit of sense, if they could make it through the study session without killing each other, that is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that makes sense. I’m not busy tonight… or really any night.” Pansy mumbled and Granger sniffed indignantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm. Won’t your boyfriend miss you?” She sneered and Pansy clenched her fists, trying to avoid snapping at the girl</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco is not my-. Ugh. Look, it's complicated, alright? You’re a muggle, you wouldn’t get it.” Pansy snapped, and Granger actually chuckled at this. What about what Pansy said had been funny? It had just been the truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think they don’t have arranged marriages in the muggle world? I mean sure, they happen a lot less but I’ve heard of them. You two just spend so much time together I assumed-.” Pansy cut her off and crossed her arms, not wanting to look at Granger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You assumed wrong, Granger. Besides, you’re hardly one who should be sneering about anyone’s boyfriend. You’re dating Weasley. Honestly, bottom of the barrel.” She sneered and she saw Granger flinch away at this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ron can be sweet.” She muttered, and Pansy rolled her eyes. Ron Weasley wasn’t sweet, he was annoying and a little self centered and Pansy didn’t quite get how Granger didn’t see that he’d basically used her for her intelligence since first year. If she had any inkling of friendship with Granger, she would’ve told her to dump Ron months ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, and Draco can make a decision without involving his father.” Pansy snorted and Granger fiddled with her fingers, looking down at her shoes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know him like that.” She mumbled, and Pansy decided to leave it well enough alone.  Not everyone can have good taste, she supposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine. Whatever. To answer your question, I’m not busy tonight. How does right after dinner sound? Meet outside the library?” She asked and Granger finally stopped the whole embarrassed girlfriend act and straightened up. Good, Pansy thought, she didn’t want to have to work with that side of Granger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds perfect.” Granger said curtly. Pansy tilted her head at the little sapling, cursing it in her mind because it was going to screw up her entire life. She was going to have no free time and she wasn’t prepared to give it all up just to work with Hermione Granger. Sounded like a nightmare.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Tensions rise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pansy wondered if maybe she was a little early, as she felt like she had been standing outside the entrance to the library for about… 20 minutes.  Maybe Granger wasn’t going to show at all, and she’d be forced to do all the research herself, but that honestly doesn’t sound like Granger.  She seems to enjoy the work all too much to just let it slide by her.  Pansy musings were proven correct when she heard Granger walking down the corridor, Ron Weasley tight on her heels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see how meeting with one of the most ignorant people at this school is good for you, I just don’t think you should go alone!”  Pansy heard him gasp in an exasperated tone.  She had to stave off a chuckle that was fighting it's way up her throat.  Was Ronald Weasley afraid of her?  Seriously?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ron, I’m completely able to handle myself, and we’re working on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>project</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  In the library.  Literally nothing is going to happen to me, there is nothing she can do to me that I haven’t already thought of happening.”  Granger said, sounding more annoyed than Pansy had ever heard her before.  ‘Ron can be sweet’.  How's that working out for you right now, Granger, Pansy thought with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slytherins are pure evil!  She’s probably plotting a way to hex you right now that you wouldn’t even suspect!”  Ron hissed and Granger rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, glaring the redhead down with such animosity that if Pansy didn’t know she’d think they hated each other.  It was honestly quite amusing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's a little bit of an outdated concept, Ronald.  If I felt I was in any danger I would not have agreed to study with her.”  She stated firmly and Ron opened his mouth to protest.  Seriously, does he not believe she can make her own decisions?  Pansy found this odd as Granger seemed to be the only one in their group with any wits about her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.” Ron began and Pansy sighed and stepped out into view, balancing her book on her hip.  She was done being amused, she just wanted to get to work already.  After all, she didn't have all night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Weasel.  Is the woman not allowed to form her own opinions.  For your information, she and I just need to work on our projects and I dare say, she’s more equipped to handle herself than you are to defend her.  Hey.  You’re late.”  Pansy said, the last part directed to Granger, a small smirk still playing on her lips.  Granger shook her head and tilted her head to the side, signaling at Ron.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, got a little held up.  Did you get us a table?”  She asked and Pansy shook her head.  When would she have done that?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I assumed I should wait outside the library as that's </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>what we agreed to, Granger.”  She snapped and Granger put up her hands in defense before walking over to Pansy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need to bite my head off, let's go get to work.”  Granger said, and walked into the library.  Pansy went to follow, relieved that they were finally starting -she did have a life after all, a rather active one that-.  But she was stopped by a hard grip twisting into the back of her sweater, pulling her backwards until she was met with the suspicious face of Ronald Weasley.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know what you’re doing.”  He snapped and Pansy tried not to make a face at the smell of his dinner still on his breath as he breathed heavily in her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Working on my project?”  She said, and Ron rolled his eyes and sneered.  Did he honestly think this was all some kind of ploy?  Why would Pansy waste her time and her breath on something like that, she had far better things to be doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not that.  I think you’re trying to lure her into a false sense of security so you can pounce on her-.”  Pansy cut him off and wriggled from his grip, shooting a glare at him.  She was done playing nice, it wasn't really her style.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow Weasley!  You got me!  I sat in the only open seat in class and actually offered to do my part on the project all so I can hex </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>girlfriend because obviously you’re the big brained smart boy and I’m just an evil little girl.  Right?”  She asked, and went to walk into the library, only to have Ron catch her again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well-.”  He started and Pansy cut him off.  This was getting tiresome.  <em>He </em>was getting tiresome.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get over yourself.  I want a good grade just as much as she does.  So how about you fuck off and let me get to work.  And </span>
  <em>
    <span>let go </span>
  </em>
  <span>of my sweater.  If you stretch it out, you’re buying me a new one and something tells me your mother and father wouldn’t be too pleased about dropping that kind of money out of the blue.”  She snapped, smacking his hand away again.  This time, Ron simply rolled his eyes and started walking away backwards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.  I’m watching you.”  He snapped and Pansy shook her head.  Did he honestly think that that came across as a </span>
  <em>
    <span>threat</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  Of course it didn’t!  She wasn’t afraid of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Weasley, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and she doubted she ever would be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead!”  She called after him, and then turned on her heel and stormed into the library.  It took her a moment to locate Granger, she was all the way in the back, no doubt embarrassed about having to be seen with an </span>
  <em>
    <span>evil </span>
  </em>
  <span>Slytherin.  She looked up when Pansy got to her table and sat down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did he say to you?”  She asked quietly and Pansy took a deep breath.  She should save her anger for when Granger really fucks up.  This was her </span>
  <em>
    <span>boyfriends</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing, not quite fair to take it out on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, just that he knows what an evil little prick I am, and that he’s watching me.  The normal Gryffindor banter that I endure.” Pansy said and Granger looked a little conflicted as she chewed on her lip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I told him not to do that.”  She said quietly, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head because it was honestly a little cute, the fact that Granger thought she'd be offended by something like that.  She'd dealt with teachers not trusting her since she was eleven years old, a peer is <em>nothing</em>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can handle a bit of distrust, Granger, I’m not made of glass.” She insisted and Granger sighed, toying with the end of her quill.  Merlin, Pansy realized, this was actually eating away at the poor girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you didn’t do anything this time.”  Granger said and Pansy almost chuckled because she <em>never </em>had to do anything for people to think she was doing something shady.  It just happened like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t mean I instantly gain trust.”  Pansy pointed out because that was the truth.  Trust was earned over time and easily broken, Pansy knew that very well.  She didn't expect instant trust, she just expected some respect.  For whatever reason, this didn't seem to sit well with Granger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It should.”  Granger insisted and Pansy rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put the nobleness away, Granger.  Let's just get to work, I’d rather not spend my entire night doing this.”  Pansy said in a bored voice, not wanting to get into the politics of Hogwarts with a Gryffindor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Okay so Whomping Willow… lets see, here we go.  ‘The Whomping Willow is a violent, sentient form of tree.’”  Granger read and Pansy sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.  If that was the research they were doing, at that speed, they'd be here all night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously.” Pansy snapped and Granger rolled her eyes and closed the book a little bit, giving her a look.  If Pansy couldn't do little jabs during this, she didn't know how she'd get through it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I thought we should start with the basics.” Granger insisted, and Pansy read the rest of the passage on the Willow and realized just how violent it really was.  Hardly seemed like something a school should put on their grounds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do we even have one of these?  Seems like a pretty bad idea, having that violent of a tree out there around kids.  Someone could get seriously injured." Pansy muttered and she saw Granger shifting around uncomfortably.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Its um… groundskeeping's idea, I think.  You know, get the students exposed to plants they'll see in the world.” Granger said quietly and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  That seemed far from the whole story and it seemed like Granger just may have it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… seems like you know more than you’re letting on.”  Pansy muttered and Granger shot her a glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sod off!”  She snapped and Pansy chuckled and shrugged, doodling a flower in the corner of her parchment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t mean to strike a nerve there, Granger.  Calm down.”  She insisted, and Granger rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right well-.” The other girl started, only to be cut off by the sound of a chair scraping back and the sudden presence of heavy cologne.  Pansy stiffened.  Draco.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  Darling, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”  He said and she rolled her eyes.  She'd told him during dinner she was going to go work on her project with Granger, this wasn't a new discussion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco you knew I had to work on this project tonight, I told you that.”  Pansy said, trying to sound as not annoyed as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I didn’t think you were serious.”  Draco said, sounding a little amused.  Pansy found this to be a little rude, just because she wasn't first in the class didn't mean she slacked off all the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I not be serious?  I want good grades as much as the next person.”  Pansy said, and across from her Granger sighed and shut her textbook before rubbing her temples lightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Malfoy, you’re distracting her can you please-.” Draco cut her off before she could finish her sentence, sending a glare the muggle girl's way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one was talking to you, filthy little mudblood.”  Draco snapped and it could have been a trick of the lights or something, but Pansy could've sworn she saw Granger flinch away at that.  Odd, Pansy thought, it would make more sense if the word no longer affected the girl anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, that was uncalled for, she wasn’t doing anything to you, <em>you're </em>the one who interrupted our work.”  Pansy muttered, and Draco rolled his eyes at her.  Pansy got the itch to hex him in the face, but knew it would be bad for business if she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, darling... she interrupted me.”  Draco said, his tone nothing short of extremely condescending as he tried to rub Pansy's arm.  She jerked away from him and huffed, effectively done with his attitude right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, actually you interrupted </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  But why split the hairs, right?  You’re Draco Malfoy so </span>
  <em>
    <span>obviously </span>
  </em>
  <span>you must be right.”  Pansy sneered and Draco blinked, looking taken aback as though he couldn't <em>possibly </em>figure out what she was angry over.  Later, Pansy would lie awake and contemplate what had made her defend the girl in that scenario, she normally would have done nothing of the sort.  She chalked it up to being annoyed with Draco.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy what's gotten-.” He started and Pansy shook her head at him and let out a humorless chuckle.  She knew where that was going.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's gotten into me is that you keep </span>
  <em>
    <span>breathing </span>
  </em>
  <span>down my neck!  Maybe I want a bit of space right now, Draco.  I don’t get why you’re suddenly trying to be attached at the hip.” She snapped and from across the room she heard Madame Pince clear her throat, leveling a heavy glare at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Parkinson.  Quiet down.”  The librarian insisted and Pansy flashed her a quick look of apology before turning her attention back to Draco.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I’ll see you in the common room later, alright?”  She whispered and Draco looked deeply offended by this.  Seriously, as though he <em>actually </em>wanted to spend any time with Pansy.  He just wanted to save face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d seriously rather hang out with this mudblood?”  Draco sneered and Pansy slammed her hands on the table, earning her another look from Madame Pince, and glared over at Draco.  It was one thing when he would annoy her in the common room, it was a whole other thing to get in the way of her working on her homework.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>working, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Draco.”  She snapped, and Granger cleared her throat, looking a little distant.  Pansy supposed that makes sense, it couldn't feel wonderful to have your classmate throwing slurs at you every time you see each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what?  You seem busy.  Why don’t we do this another time?”  Granger asked quietly, and stood up to walk away.  Pansy stood up and tried to catch the girl's arm but couldn't quite reach.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Granger-.”  She started and the other girl looked at her, or more through her, with a blank expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it's fine!  I’ve got plenty of other things I can work on.  Tomorrow, Parkinson.  Same time.”  She said, cold and clinical.  Pansy turned back to Draco, fuming at what had just happened.  She poked a manicured finger into his chest and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look what you did!”  She hissed and Draco rolled his eyes and pushed her hand down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did you a favor!”  He insisted and Pansy let out a cold chuckle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is making my project partner storm off in a huff a favor?”  She asked and Draco shrugged, looking a little confused at this point.  Pansy had never let herself be mad at him for this long, it must be shocking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t even like her!”  He said and she rolled her eyes.  Whether she liked Granger or not they were stuck on this project together and he willfully chose to get in the way of that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And she doesn’t like me either, that doesn’t change the fact that we have to work together, no exceptions.  Just get away from me.”  She snapped and Draco looked almost apologetic as he reached for Pansy's hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy look-.”  She glared at him and shook her head, taking a large step away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Malfoy.  You’ve done enough.”  Pansy snapped and Draco scoffed and shook his head, but ultimately went when he realized Pansy wasn't joking.  She breathed a sigh of relief and got back to studying.  Granger may not want to finish the session today but that didn't mean she wasn't going to work.  She had said she would, and she wanted to prove that she keeps her promises.</span>
</p><hr/><p>"Granger!" Pansy honestly couldn't believe she was actually attempting to <em>seek out </em>the muggleborn, but she felt that it was only right to give her an apology.  After all, she'd more then earned one after yesterday.  The girl stopped in her tracks and stiffened before turning around to look at Pansy, and the sight made her gasp.  Someone had hexed the girl and made her face become covered in boils.</p><p>"What do you <em>want</em>?"  Granger snapped, and Pansy couldn't even fault her.  She also wouldn't have been the most approachable if she was walking around with boils on her face.</p><p>"I was going to apologize for Draco's behavior in the library yesterday and give you the notes I took after you left... what happened to you?"  She asked quietly and Granger let out a wry chuckle and shook her head.</p><p>"<em>Please </em>as if you don't already know!"  She snapped, and Pansy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, willing herself to calm down and talk to Granger like a person, as much as she wanted to snap at her.</p><p>"Granger I swear I had nothing to do with this one!"  Pansy insisted and Grangers fight seemed to go out of her.  Her shoulders sagged and she leaned against the wall, putting her hands in her face.  Pansy wanted to tell her not to do that, that it would probably hurt more, maybe even spread, but she had a feeling that would be the wrong thing to do right now.</p><p>"Right well... your boyfriend found it to be quite a laugh."  Granger mumbled and Pansy actually felt a little angry at this.  Draco had no right to be going around hexing people just because he was pissed off.</p><p>"Draco isn't my boyfriend.  Merlin, what a prick!  He's mad at me because I didn't take his side yesterday in the library and he's taking it out on you."  Pansy said angrily and Granger rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Yeah thats pretty clear!" She snapped and Pansy sighed, realizing what she had to do.</p><p>"Look... let me take you to Madame Pomfrey..."  Pansy muttered and Granger shook her head storming away from her.</p><p>"No, I don't <em>need </em>your help."  She said, and Pansy jogged a little to catch up to her, almost amused at Granger's childish response.  It was out of character for someone who was normally so calculated.</p><p>"Oh I never said you needed my <em>help, </em>Granger.  You're plenty frightening enough on your own to most, and thats meant as a compliment so don't go jumping down my throat.  What I meant was I can provide an extra layer of protection from my housemates.  They won't do anything if you're being escorted by a Slytherin.  Unless you want to get hexed again." Pansy said, and this gave Granger pause.  She thought about it for a moment before responding.</p><p>"... Fine.  But that doesn't mean I forgive you for yesterday.  You let him call me that... twice and you didn't try and stop him." Granger snapped and Pansy winced.  Her anger was not misplaced, but she did misunderstand the situation.</p><p>"Trying to stop Draco from saying that is like trying to stop a werewolf transformation.  Its impossible.  And whether you could tell or not that <em>was</em> me reprimanding him.  Theres not much I'm able to do or say, I don't have complete freedom when it comes to him, my parents would have my head if the Malfoys pulled out of the betrothal."  Pansy said, and Granger shrugged.  Pansy wanted to yell at her, make her realize that her hands were all but tied all the time, but she didn't feel it would have much of an effect.  Explaining pureblood culture to muggles felt pointless most of the time.</p><p>"I suppose you did respond a little differently then you had when I got hexed in the face by him and my teeth grew-." Pansy cut her off, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the memory.  Yeah, it was a little cruel but it was an honest to Circe accident, the spell was meant to hit Potter and it was funny.</p><p>"To be fair!  I had nothing to do with that as well, it wasn't exactly my place." Pansy explained and Granger shot her a look.</p><p>"Never a wrong place to be a good person, Parkinson."  She responded and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Right, this was why she wasn't friends with Gryffindors.  Too self righteous, skewed world view.</p><p>"Right, well you have a lot more opportunities that wouldn't cause mutiny in your friend group, alright?"  Pansy snapped, a little angrier then she had meant to.  For a while, Granger was silent before she cleared her throat.</p><p>"Why are you being nice right now?"  She asked, and Pansy looked at her in surprise.</p><p>"I'm not being nice to you." Pansy sniffed and this made the other girl let out a small laugh.</p><p>"You're walking me to Madame Pomfrey's... you haven't insulted me once..."  She trailed off and Pansy ran a hand through her hair.  That passed as <em>nice </em>to Granger? </p><p>"Thats the only level of nice I can be to you?  Merlin, I must be a right bint."  Pansy muttered and this actually made Granger chuckle a little bit.  Thats a sign of improvement, maybe a sign she was actually believing that Pansy hadn't had anything to do with this.</p><p>"A little bit, yeah."  She muttered and Pansy looked at her, clear amusement in her eyes.  She decided that maybe Granger wasn't <em>awful </em>when she was able to actually crack a joke or match her sarcasm.  Pansy bumped into her shoulder lightly as they turned a corner.</p><p>"Careful now, Granger.  I'm not above kicking a girl when she's down.  Oh, we're here."  Pansy said, and Granger turned to face her, looking a little more anxious now.</p><p>"Thank you... for walking with me."  She said and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Did she seriously think that Pansy wasn't going to wait with her?  Draco held grudges pretty damn well, he'd try again.</p><p>"I'm not gonna leave you alone... you just hexed in the face and Draco will do it again if he catches you on your own."  Pansy insisted and Granger sighed, still looking a little apprehensive.  She can't honestly think Pansy had anything to do with this now, could she?</p><p>"Well.  I suppose thats okay." Granger said quietly.  Good.  That was what Pansy wanted to hear, she didn't feel like being held responsible for more then one hexing that was not her fault today.</p><p>"Gives us the chance to discuss our project a bit." Pansy pointed out, and this seemed to put Granger at ease even more.</p><p>"Yeah."  She said, and they walked into the infirmary, hearing a gasp from Madame Pomfrey as she shuffled over.  Pansy found it a little bit amusing, she was acting like she'd never seen a girl with boils on her face before.  She'd been running the infirmary for Merlin knows how long, she's had to have seen far more then one case.</p><p>"Miss Granger!  <em>Merlin</em>, what happened to you?"  Madame Pomfrey asked.  Its pretty clear, she was hexed in the goddamn face, Pansy thought but decided it would be the wrong time to voice something like that.</p><p>"Oh I got hexed in the face by a Slytherin student-."  She started and Madame Pomfrey took in Pansy's appearance, as if accusing her before even knowing what fully happened.</p><p>"Was this her?  Lets get you away from her, and I'll deal with her punishment later." She snapped, and went to lead Granger away, but she dug in her heels.</p><p>"No!  Um, Madame Pomfrey, Pansy didn't have anything to do with this, she saw me in the hallway and offered to walk me here and stay with me so that it wouldn't happen again."  Granger explained, and this seemed surprising to Madame Pomfrey</p><p>"... Oh."  The healer said and this irritated Pansy.  The want to sometimes be helpful doesn't just disappear because someone is wearing green and silver.</p><p>"Don't sound too surprised.  I'm capable of kindness."  Pansy said, and Madame Pomfrey sighed, still looking wary.</p><p>"Right well, we can get this cleared up right away.  Go sit over there, you two."  She said, pointing at two chairs around the corner.  Once they were seated, Pansy cleared her throat.  She'd been thinking about how to actually effectively do the project ever since yesterday.</p><p>"So with the project... I was thinking we should observe the sapling for the first say... two or three weeks and then go out to the one on the grounds.  I feel like we'll learn more if we spend more time on the mature one." Pansy explained and Granger seemed to actually be contemplating if that was a good idea.  A little irritating because Pansy <em> knew </em>it was a good idea, but still.  No point in arguing.</p><p>"That sounds logical enough yeah."  Granger said, after a moment of thought.  Pansy smirked and nodded, throwing her legs over the arm of the chair and getting situated. She figured she may be here awhile, why not get comfortable.</p><p>"Good so-."  Pansy started and was cut off by the sound of clamoring footsteps coming right towards them, and she froze, hand on her wand.  If it was Draco she was fully ready to hex him until he was unrecognizable.</p><p>"HERMIONE?"  Pansy heard a voice call out and she stiffened.  Well this was shaping up to be quite a shit day, wasn't it?</p><p>"'MIONE WHERE ARE YOU?"  The next voice she could tell was Weasley.  </p><p>"Great... just what I need."  Pansy muttered as the two boys ran around the corner.  If there was ever a time for the ground to open up and swallow her, now would be the time.</p><p>"'Mione, we heard what happened and- What are you doing here?  Haven't you done enough?" Ron snapped, obviously accusing Pansy of something she had <em>nothing </em>to do with this time.</p><p>"Excuse me?" Pansy asked and Hermione cleared her throat </p><p>"Ron she didn't-."  She tried but Ron cut her off by lifting a hand to silence her.</p><p>"Shh. I'll handle this.  Is it not enough to hex my girlfriend once, you need to sit next to her hospital bed and do it again?"  Ron sneered and Pansy shook her head and stood up, effectively shielding Granger from any prying eyes.  The girl hadn't asked for a row to happen in front of her.</p><p>"That wasn't-."  Pansy started and Ron whipped out his wand and pointed it in Pansy's face.</p><p>"QUIET!  Like I'm going to believe <em>you</em>.  You're on with Malfoy, aren't you?  Part of his little group?"  Ron snapped, his chest heaving.  Pansy put up her hands in surrender and nodded at him.  She already knew where this was going.</p><p>"Draco and I are friends, yes."  Pansy said, and Ron growled, jabbing his wand closer to her.  Pansy took a step away, trying to gain a little distance but it didn't work, Ron followed her closely.</p><p>"Well then you were a part of what happened!  You're just hiding it so you can do it again."  Ron yelled, and Pansy sighed, opening her mouth to respond but before she could, Potter put a light hand on Ron's arm, clearing his throat.</p><p>"Ron, c'mon mate... it really seems like she's not doing anything."  Potter said quietly, and Pansy raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged, looking away just as quick.  But Ron wouldn't hear any of it.</p><p>"<em>Please</em> she's just as evil as Malfoy-." Ron was cut off by the sound of Granger slamming her hands down on her chair and standing up to meet his glare with equal intensity.</p><p>"OKAY!  Ron, I think you should go." Hermione said, dangerously calm.  Pansy could feel the girls anger crackling right below the surface.  Ron blinked and lowered his wand, looking confused as to why he was in trouble</p><p>"What?!  I'm your boyfriend, I think I should be here.  She-." Granger cut him off</p><p>"Saw me in the hall after it happened and was trying to apologize for what Draco said to me yesterday.  You really shouldn't storm in here all high and mighty when you have <em>no </em>idea whats going on."  She snapped and Pansy fought back a snort.  Watching Granger reprimand her friends was actually kinda fun, and really did solidify that she was the only one in her friend group with a functioning mind.  Ron still looked confused.</p><p>"Okay so why is she here?"  He asked and Granger let out a frustrated groan.  Pansy didn't blame her, dating Weasley seemed like a bit of chore.</p><p>"She walked me here so it wouldn't happen again!"  Granger hissed, but this did nothing to quell Ron's anger and it certainly didn't make him lower his wand from where it was pointed at Pansy's face.</p><p>"I don't trust her!"  He insisted and Granger rolled his eyes.  Pansy noted how uncomfortable Potter looked next to Ron, he looked like he might just disappear through the floor from secondhand embarrassment.</p><p>"Frankly, Ronald.  I don't <em>care </em>who you trust and don't trust." Granger snapped and Ron looked honestly like he'd just swallowed a toad.</p><p>"But-."  He started and Granger cut him off quickly.</p><p>"But nothing!  I'm smart enough and capable enough to make my own choices!  And right now the choice I'm making is that I don't want to be around you, get out!"  Granger said, her voice raising with each word.  Potter winced away from it, and Pansy found that odd.  She thought he wasn't afraid of anything.</p><p>"Hermione-." Ron started and Pansy cleared her throat, a little sick of the melodramatics at this point. </p><p>"Mate, she said leave."  Pansy said, and Ron chuckled and looked over at Granger, as if expecting her to tell Pansy to shut up.  She didn't, obviously, because Pansy was just reiterating what she had already said.</p><p>"Wow.  Seriously?  You're gonna let her talk to me like that?"  Ron snapped at Granger.  Pansy didn't know what possessed her to step between them again, probably the fact that Ron was treating her like she didn't exist and she didn't exactly love that feeling.</p><p>"I can talk to you however I want to talk to you.  Now.  I'd leave before I make you leave."  Pansy warned, her fingers flexed around her wand.  Ron opened his mouth to speak again, but shut it quickly, as if he had decided it wasn't worth it.  Good, wouldn't want to walk away after losing a duel, now would he.</p><p>"Whatever!"  Ron snapped, and stormed off.  Potter stayed behind for a moment, shuffling back and forth before he spoke up.</p><p>"Erm... sorry about that, Parkinson.  Ron can be a little-."  Pansy cut him off and shrugged.  She knew fiery tempers, lots of people around her had them</p><p>"Its okay.  If its any indication from the state of Granger's face, I have a hotheaded friend too.  Just go find him before he blows one of my friends up."  Pansy insisted and Potter nodded and looked away from her.  Pansy thought about it, and was fairly certain that that was the longest conversation she'd ever had with him, and it didn't even end in insults.</p><p>"Right... See you in the common room, Hermione!"  Potter said, turning on his heel and walking out.  Pansy settled back next to Granger and fiddled her thumbs a bit, trying to figure out what to say.</p><p>"Hey... you know you didn't have to do that, right?"  She asked, and Granger looked at her like she'd just spoken Latin.</p><p>"What?  I wasn't going to let Ron falsely accuse you of something just because he can't get it through his thick skull sometimes that not all Slytherins are evil. And that people aren't always bullies if they've bullied in the past."</p><p>"... Right.  Well this doesn't make us friends, okay?" Pansy said, and Granger rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Wasn't thinking it did, Pansy."  Granger said and Pansy raised her eyebrow because <em>thats the second time she's called her Pansy today</em>.  She decided this time she could bring it up.</p><p>"Pansy?"  She asked and Granger let out a small laugh.</p><p>"For the moment.  We'll see how long it lasts." Grang-Hermione said with a wry smile, and patted Pansy's arm.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Betrayal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>TW: Outing and slight homophobia</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Okay so maybe working with Granger wasn’t as bad as Pansy thought it was going to be, but that doesn’t mean that she enjoys it, or that she wants to be around the girl any more then she has to be.  It was tiring, working with her, because it seemed like whenever they were just starting to make headway, Ronald Weasley decided to come by and fuck it all up, making both of them lose their concentration.  That had been the case tonight, and instead of just staying and letting him berate her until he got sick of it and left, Pansy decided she had had enough and got up, walking silently out of the library.  When she got back to her dorm, she could feel all eyes on her as the room went silent.  She considered pulling the curtains around her bed and just going to sleep, but the logical part of her knew that wouldn’t work anyways.</p><p>“What are you guys staring at?”  She snapped, brushing her hair behind her ears as she set down her textbooks.  No one spoke for a moment, and Pansy couldn’t figure out why.  Clearly something was bothering them, clearly something was <em> terribly </em>wrong if Pansy’s mere presence was enough to cause some kind of shift in the dynamic.  It took what felt like an eternity before Daphne stood up and walked over to her, like she was approaching some kind of wounded animal, and sat down on her bed, patting the area next to her.</p><p>“I… think we should talk.”  Daphne said quietly, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  This felt weird, like a trap or a family gathering that she didn’t want to walk into… but really there's not a big difference between those two things.</p><p>“Sure… what’s up, Daph?”  Pansy asked, obviously a little apprehensive.  She couldn’t remember that last time she’d heard her dorm this quiet, and it was putting her on edge right now.</p><p>“Well… I personally just wanted to let you know that… well.  Okay.  You know that I love you, right? As a friend, and I’ll always support you?”  Daphne asked and Pansy’s fight or flight was slowly kicking in.  This felt like something out of a nightmare, like the thing that happens right before the nightmare starts.</p><p>“Yes, Daphne.  I don’t see where you’re going with this…”  Pansy said, shifting further away from her.  Seriously, had someone put some kind of potion in Daphne’s cup tonight, why was she acting so fucking weird?</p><p>“Okay.  So… Draco found something out about you… something none of us knew…”  Daphne started and Pansy started to feel faint.  What had he done this time?</p><p>“What?”  She asked quietly, and Daphne swallowed nervously and dug out a piece of parchment, holding it away from her a little bit, as if she was scared to touch the paper for longer than what was needed.</p><p>“-And he’s taken it upon himself to tell the whole house.  Here.”  Daphne said quickly, and shoved the paper into Pansy’s hands.  The second she read the first sentence she felt her world slow to a stop.</p><p><em> Dearest Slytherins,<br/></em> <em> It has come to my attention that one of your Prefects, Pansy Parkinson, fancies women- </em></p><p>Pansy couldn’t bring herself to read past that.  It felt like she was moving through syrup, and like everyone’s words were being drowned out by the pounding of her own blood.  How could Draco know that?  She’d been so careful, no one knew and no one was ever <em> supposed </em>to know.  This was exactly what her father had meant by ‘don’t ruin our family name’.  And Draco knew what happened if this got back to her family.  He wanted to hurt her, and she guessed it made sense… Draco hadn’t spoken to her since he heard that she had waited up with Granger in the infirmary.</p><p>“-Pansy?”  She heard Daphne ask, and she felt the girls hand land on her arm, and she jerked away and stood up, running a shaky hand through her hair.  This wasn’t supposed to happen.  She <em> wasn’t </em> supposed to have this happen to her. She was Pansy fucking Parkinson, she can’t be… she can’t like… and <em> certainly </em> no one can know about it, it was something she was supposed to take to her grave.  Graduate, marry Draco, give him his stupid heir, and await the sweet grip of death.  That was supposed to be what happened, and it <em> can’t </em>happen now.  She felt like the world was slipping from her view.</p><p>“I… I can’t.”  She said, hating how weak and quiet her voice sounded coming from her, but it was better then breaking down crying in front of her whole dorm.  She turned on her heel and sprinted for the door, hearing Daphne stand up behind her.</p><p>“Pansy wait!”  She called, but Pansy’s eyes were already blurring with tears as she sprinted out the door.</p><p>“No!”  She said, feeling the horror set in.  A bathroom, she needed to go and hide in the bathroom.  No one would be bothering her about this there.  She was making a beeline for the door when Draco stepped right in her way and she stiffened.  Her first thought was to hex him, maybe snap his wand in half, but none of those felt right.</p><p><br/>“Pansy, I see you got my little <em> note </em> .  Ready to apologize now-.”  She slammed her fist into his nose before he could finish his statement, sending him careening back against the wall, bringing a hand up to cup under his nose, trying to catch his blood.  Draco looked taken aback and surprised, as if outing her was supposed to just be some <em> big </em>joke.</p><p>“You <em> wanker </em> !  You selfish <em> fucking </em>prick!  Did you ever think there was a reason you didn’t know?  A reason no one knew about this?!”  Pansy shrieked, not caring who was looking now.  They all knew, why not have them see the aftermath?</p><p>“Hold on… I was right?”  Draco said quietly and this made Pansy sick to her stomach.  He didn’t even <em> know </em> when he did this?  He just thought he should do this for the fun of it?  She could <em> die </em> if her father found out, he would actually kill her.</p><p>“Clearly! <em> Merlin </em> are you telling me you were just doing this to tarnish my reputation.”  Pansy said, and in that moment she realized just what a <em> shit </em>person Draco Malfoy could really be.  He blinked, like he was at a total loss for words, like he couldn’t comprehend what he had done.</p><p>“I was showing you what happens when you don’t listen to me.”  He said in a tiny, very afraid voice.  Pansy felt like she was actually going to faint now.</p><p>“Oh my Circe!  How did I ever think you were a good person?!  You’ve just done something that cannot be fixed.  That was supposed to be on <em> my </em> terms, you think I’m <em> okay </em>with the fact that I’m like this?”  Pansy snapped and Draco’s face paled as he reached out for, probably wanting to say something to vindicate his fucking ass in this moment, but Pansy didn’t want that.  She didn’t want to forgive him right now.</p><p>“Pansy-.”  He tried but she jumped away from his hand.</p><p>“Stay away from me!”  She snapped and ran out the dungeon door and up to the bathroom, throwing the door open and not even bothering to check if the stalls were occupied.  She walked over to one of the mirrors and saw herself, eyes puffy, makeup running.  Pathetic.  She growled in the mirror and brought her fist up.</p><p>“GOD!  FUCKING!  DAMNIT!”  She yelled, slamming her hand into the wall on each word, ignoring the pain she felt radiating up her arm as she slumped down into a crouched ball on the ground, sobbing into her knees.</p><p>“Hello?  Is someone else in here-oh.  Sorry.”  She heard a girl say, and she stiffened and went to stand up.</p><p>“I was just leaving.”  Pansy mumbled but the girl stopped her by standing in front of her and the second they made eye contact, Pansy knew who she was.  Girl Weasley.</p><p>“Woah, hey.  Not trying to intrude but you look like hell-.”  Girl Weasley offered and Pansy sneered and looked away from her.</p><p>“Thanks for that vote of confidence, <em> Weasley </em>.”  Pansy shot back and the girl sighed and leaned a hand on the sink, wincing when she saw the bloody dent in the wall from Pansy’s fist.</p><p>“Is this about those letters Draco had sent around your house?”  She asked quietly and this got Pansy’s attention.  She looked up in fear because <em> really </em>did everyone know?</p><p>“How do you know about this?!”  Pansy asked, knowing she sounded harsh, but not being able to control it.</p><p>“I have ears… people were whispering about it in the library.”  She explained and Pansy felt like her whole world just fell out from under her.  Her parents were going to find out, oh <em> Merlin </em> her parents….</p><p>“Great, so the whole bloody school knows, I’m gonna murder that prick.”  Pansy snapped, and Ginny held up a hand to pause her for a moment.</p><p>“Hold on, before you do something that could land you in Azkaban, the whole school doesn’t know.  They will end up knowing because word of mouth travels quickly, and I am sorry about that because… it's not supposed to be like that.”  She said and Pansy scoffed and raised an eyebrow</p><p>“And what would <em> you </em>know about any of this?”  She spat and the girl sighed and Pansy saw her shoulders sag a little bit.</p><p>“... A lot more than you’d think.”  She whispered and Pansy’s eyebrow shot up.  This wasn’t honestly happening.</p><p>“You mean-.”  The girl cut her off and nodded.</p><p>“Mhm.  I’ve never been outed, but I know what it's like to carry it around, and it's… terrifying.”  The girl offered, and there was silence between them for what felt like an eternity before Pansy asked her burning question.</p><p>“How’d you do it.”  She said, her voice coming out small and defeated.</p><p>“What?”  Girl Weasley asked and Pansy sighed.  What was not clear about that?  Are all Weasleys this thick headed?</p><p>“How’d you become okay with it?”  She asked as plainly as she possibly could.  The girl thought for a moment, and then shrugged.</p><p>“It took a lot of time, but for me I think it was a bit easier because I have a really accepting family, and all my parents cared about was that I was happy.  And I have friends who supported me.  Those are going to be your most important thing to look for.”  She explained and suddenly Pansy was terrified again.</p><p>“I don’t… I don’t know if I have any of those.”  Pansy said and the girl sighed and looked up at the ceiling.</p><p>“Well, I wouldn’t call us friends-.”  Pansy cut her off with a curt nod, needing to show that she was still herself.</p><p>“I’ll say.  I’m not even sure of your name.”  She sniffled, wiping under her eyes.  The redheaded girl smiled and shrugged, leaning against the wall.</p><p>“Ginny.  But… I can be a support if you need one, and I’ll keep my ear to the ground if I hear anyone saying anything, okay?”  She asked, and held out her hand.  Pansy shook it with some caution, unsure of what the other girl's motive was behind this.</p><p>“That's… oddly nice.”  Pansy mumbled, and Ginny shrugged again and pushed herself off the wall, still looking down at Pansy.</p><p>“Figured you could use it.  Now come on, I’ll walk you back to the dungeon.”  Ginny said, holding out her hand.  Pansy paused for a moment before taking it and letting the redhead haul her up to her feet.  In that moment she couldn’t help but notice the stark difference between the two Weasley’s personalities.</p><p>“... Okay.”  Pansy said, and she and Ginny walked in silence down to the dungeon.  When Pansy glanced over at Ginny she realized that the girl was <em> glaring </em> .  Just glaring at anyone who dared come near them.  She was being… a support.  And if some girl she’d just met could be that for her, she decided she should <em> try </em>with her friends.  After bidding Ginny a quick goodnight Pansy rushed inside the common room and into her dorm, where it seemed like time was frozen because no one had moved.  Even Daphne was still sitting on Pansy’s bed, but she stood up when she saw the door open.</p><p>“Pansy… you’re back.”  She said tentatively and Pansy nodded and wiped under her eyes again, taking a deep breath.  She could do this.</p><p>“Yeah.  A-And after talking to someone… there's something I think I want to tell you guys?”  Pansy said, hating how shaky her voice sounded.  Currently, gone was the sound of the confident prefect, and here was the scared girl who had far too many expectations for herself.</p><p>“We’re listening.”  Daphne said encouragingly, and Pansy cleared her throat, still not sure how to force the words to come out.</p><p>“I’m… gay…”  She croaked, and for a terrifying moment the room was completely silent before she felt two arms wrap tightly around her and she looked over to see Daphne hugging her tightly, just for a moment before she cleared her throat and straightened back up.</p><p>“Well, I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say that, but I can’t say I’m shocked.”  Daphne said, obviously a clear attempt at a joke, but just made Pansy let out a choked sob as she covered her mouth.</p><p>“I’m sorry-.”  Pansy tried but Daphne pulled her down to sit next to her and rested Pansy’s head on her shoulder, stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down.</p><p>“Oh for <em> fucks </em> sake stop apologizing!  You got outed, that sucks, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us hate you for it.  It's something completely out of your control.  And if I hear <em> any </em>of you say anything about it, I will hex you until you have a permanent limp.”  Daphne said, growling the last part at the other girls in the room, who gave murmurs of acknowledgement and agreement.</p><p>“Daph-.”  Pansy tried to interject, to tell her that wasn’t needed.  To tell her that whatever happened was just a punishment for how she was but Daphne didn’t let that be said, instead she gripped one of Pansy’s hands tightly.</p><p>“I mean it.  Not to mention, you’d better tell me if anyone else says anything too.  Because that's <em> not </em>going to happen on my watch.” Daphne insisted, still stroking Pansy’s hair as she spoke.  Pansy knew Daphne meant it but she couldn’t say the same for the rest-</p><p>“Mine either.  You aren’t losing us, Pans.”  Tracey piped up, standing up from her bed and walking across the room, leaning on one of the pillars of Pansy’s bed.  She sniffled lightly and flashed as much of a smile as she could muster up at her.</p><p>“... Thank you.”  She mumbled and Tracey rolled her eyes, but Pansy could see the softness behind them, the caring.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah.  Don’t get all sappy on us now, Parkinson.  We’re your friends, you can trust us.  No one’s gonna betray you here.”  Tracey said, pulling Pansy into a tight hug, which Pansy took as a queue to just let the world fall for a moment as she clung onto her friend.  She knew tomorrow might be hell, but at least she was safe right now.</p><hr/><p>The next morning Pansy felt like she’d been hit in the head by a stray bludger or something, because her head was <em> pounding </em> .  She’d managed to make it through two classes without too many incidents, without having to talk to anyone, but now she was in potions, and she hadn’t gotten there in enough time to get her normal seat, and also she’d rather sever off her toe then sit next to Draco so she was stuck with… Granger.  Awesome.  The world just <em> loves </em>to make everything more difficult.  When Pansy collapsed next to her and gave her a small grunt of acknowledgement, Granger actually smiled at her.</p><p>“I think that's the most noise you’ve made all day.”  She said quietly and Pansy raised an eyebrow at her, glancing over.  How would she have any idea what had come out of Pansy’s mouth today, this was their first class together.</p><p>“And how would you know?”  Pansy asked, trying not to snap.  Her bad mood was not Granger’s fault, it was her sniveling little prick of an ex best friend’s fault.</p><p>“I noticed you weren’t talking or really eating in the great hall, assumed it's kind of been your mood for the entire day.”  Granger explained and Pansy sighed, resting her head on her arms, just trying to get some sort of relief from the noise around her.</p><p>“You aren’t wrong, Granger.”  She mumbled, and Granger let out another small laugh, that was cut short by the sound of footsteps stopping right in front of their table.  Pansy didn’t want to look up because she could just sense whatever was happening was not something she was going to enjoy.</p><p>“So, Parkinson.”  She heard Ron sneer and she sighed and stretched up, just wanting this part of it to be over.  She knew this might happen, she’d come to terms with that much, but from the way Granger was tensing next to her it was not something her table-mate was expecting.</p><p>“Oh awesome, yeah this is what I needed with my migraine.”  Pansy mumbled and Ron leaned across the table, causing Pansy to lean back further from him.</p><p>“I heard something <em> very </em>interesting about you.”  He muttered, and Pansy sighed and rested her chin on her hand.</p><p>“Look, Weasley, I don’t want to have to hex you, but let it be known that if I do, you’ve earned it.”  Pansy said in a bored voice and Ron sneered and got more in her face.</p><p>“I heard that you’re a-.” Ron was cut off by Granger raising her wand to him.</p><p>“<em> Langlock. </em> ”  She said and Ron’s eyes bugged out when his tongue stuck to the top of his mouth effectively shutting him up.  Pansy couldn’t help but laugh because he looked <em> ridiculous </em>right now.</p><p>“Mmph!  Mmph!”  He struggled against the spell and Granger crossed her arms, glaring heavily at him.</p><p>“Ronald Billius Weasley you know better!  You know <em> so </em> much better!  And how dare you think that that's okay to bring up?”  She snapped, muttering the counter-curse.  Ron gasped out dramatically for air, which Pansy found a bit ridiculous, its not like he couldn’t <em> breathe </em> .  Also his middle name is Billius?  <em>Hilarious.</em></p><p>“What the hell, ‘Mione?!  I was just having a bit of fun!”  He said, and Granger shook her head in disbelief.</p><p>“A bit of fun- Oh my god.  A classmate has something terrible happened to them and your first thought is ``how can I make this whole thing <em> worse </em>?!”  She snapped and Pansy couldn’t help another small chuckle.  She’d never seen Granger this worked up before.</p><p>“So what?!”  He said and Granger rolled her eyes and crossed her arms tightly over her chest, looking away from him</p><p>“Ron… I think we’re done here.”  Granger said quietly and Ron paused, looking confused. Pansy held her breath because it only felt right not to say anything.  She was witnessing a breakup that exactly no one but her had seen coming.</p><p>“... What?”  He asked quietly and Granger sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes and gave the boy a quick shrug.</p><p>“You and me.  We’re <em> done </em> .  I don’t like the way you’ve been treating people recently and I… I don’t want to be with you anymore.”  Granger said and Pansy chuckled a little as Ron scoffed. </p><p>“Oh my god, over a <em> joke </em> ?!”  Ron snapped and Granger rolled her eyes.  Pansy honestly felt like her jaw might drop open at any moment because she hadn’t seen this coming. </p><p>“It's not a joke, Ron.  And it's not okay.  Just… please respect my decision.”  She said, and Ron looked like he was going to say something, maybe yell, and Pansy let her hand rest on her wand just in case.</p><p>“... Whatever.”  He mumbled and stormed off. There was an uncomfortable silence for what felt like forever until Pansy cleared her throat.</p><p>“So I’ll take it you know.”  She asked and Granger nodded, unrolling her parchment and putting her textbook on the table.</p><p>“Mhm.  Overheard some people in the library yesterday, though I did tell them to sod off because it's not their place to talk about that.”  Granger said casually, as if that wasn’t something totally out of character. It felt out of character to Pansy.</p><p>“... Thanks.”  She said after a moment and Pansy flashed her a half smile.</p><p>“Of course.  And… you can talk to me if you want.”  Granger offered and Pansy grimaced at the thought.</p><p>“I don’t.  I don’t even want to acknowledge this ever again, nobody was ever supposed to know.”  She explained and Granger nodded at her, setting her quill down.</p><p>“I understand that, I was just putting the offer out, Pansy.”  She said.  There it was again.  It was apparently going to be a thing now, Granger using her first name.</p><p>“I got it… Hermione.”  Pansy said.  It was honestly tough, letting that name roll past her lips, it felt wrong.</p><p>"Wow.  That's new.  You've literally never called me that before.”  Hermione said and Pansy sighed and shrugged as a smirk sat on Hermione’s lips.</p><p>“I’m trying it out, don’t look so smug.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione rested her chin on her hand as the smirk grew into a grin.</p><p>“Pansy Parkinson, never did I think you’d use my first name.”  She said and Pansy huffed and crossed her arms.</p><p>“Yeah well, never did I think you wouldn’t be wanker but I guess miracles are possible because here we are.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione poked her arm lightly, causing Pansy to lean away from her.  She refused to let this be a big deal, because it <em> wasn’t </em>one.</p><p>“I’m sorry did you just admit you were <em> wrong </em>about me.”  Hermione teased and Pansy sighed and rubbed her eyes. She should’ve known that was gonna happen.</p><p>“Don’t get too smug, I’ll go back to Granger.”  Pansy warned and Hermione rolled her eyes at this threat.</p><p>“Right, right.  I forgot it's a <em> privilege </em> to have you treat me like a person.”  Hermione said, but when Pansy looked over the girl was grinning at her.  Pansy straightened up and fought her face to keep it neutral.</p><p>“Damn right it is.”  She said, trying to sound as haughty as possible, but completely failing when a smile spread across her face.  A real one, not just something that she put there to act like everything was fine.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were probably better, more efficient ways to relax that did <em> not </em> put her in constant danger for expulsion, but Pansy found that this one was the best she’d found.  It’s not like there was a spell to magically make her relax, plus it is one muggle thing done <em> very </em>right.  She held in her pull as she passed the joint down to Daphne, listening to the other girl sigh.  Pansy had missed the last couple ‘meetings’ they were supposed to have, and both Daphne and Tracey were a little pissed at her for it.</p><p>“Pans, I feel like we’ve barely even seen you since you started working with that fucking muggle.”  Daphne whined, taking another hit before passing it to Tracey.  Pansy sighed and examined her fingernails, feeling her muscles slowly relax.  She knew they shouldn’t do this in Myrtle’s bathroom, she could tell anyone… but also Pansy would be damned if she was going to get her prefect privileges revoked for sneaking Daphne and Tracey in there.  She sighed and looked down at the two girls from her perch on the sink as she let her breath out.</p><p>“Yeah, well… It has only been a few days, plus we all know she’s very hellbent on getting a good grade, which I wouldn’t mind either.”  Pansy drawled, and plucked the joint from Tracey’s hand, taking a long pull and closing her eyes as she held it in, enjoying the familiar burn in her lungs.</p><p>“So…”  Tracey said, shaking Pansy back to reality.  She sighed and exhaled, passing it back down to Daphne.  So this wouldn’t be an everyday thing, unless they could find their own supplier, she’d had a hard enough getting it from her hidden spot when <em> she </em> looked for it, Pansy didn’t exactly want Tracey and Daphne digging through her shit. </p><p>“So my attendance at the normal group ‘sessions’ may be a little bit sparse… and you’ll need to start supplying for yourself.  I think there's a few Ravenclaws who have a stash that you can buy from, maybe some Hufflepuffs too, and I’ve sometimes been lucky enough that they’ll just let me have some.”  Pansy explained and she saw Tracey start to protest, but Daphne started talking before the other witch could get her words out.</p><p>“Well don’t come crying to us when you get all pissy because you can’t relax.”  Daphne chuckled and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Yes, this was a de-stressing technique but before she’d started using it, she’d gone 14 years of her life handling it just fine on her own, she could live with cutting down the frequency.</p><p>“Shut up, I’m perfectly capable of doing it all my own.”  Pansy snapped, resting her head back on the mirror and closing her eyes.  A voice in the back of her mind was telling her she should check the time, but it seemed like it hadn’t been too long, so she ignored it.</p><p>“Yeah, right.  Can we make it mandatory that you spend at least one night a week with us?  You add that little bit of bitchiness to these sessions that make them <em> fun </em> .”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Like they were <em> really </em>going to miss her, they just didn’t want to pay and she knew it.</p><p>“Well I don’t believe you and I think you’re totally just using me for free weed, I do think that’s totally fair.  It’s not like Granger is blowing off her friends, they’re always.. Around.  It’s rather annoying actually.  Even <em> Weasley </em>still sticks around sometimes and they broke up.”  Pansy sneered, feeling herself get a little annoyed even saying his name.  He’d been so insistent, even just last night.  It was like he thought that interrupting Hermione and Pansy while they studied would be what won Hermione back.  Personally, Pansy thought that if he would just give Hermione the time and space to cool off, he’d have more of a chance, but she didn’t see that happening.</p><p>“They broke up?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy nodded.  She was a little surprised that Tracey hadn’t heard, everyone was talking about it in the Great hall yesterday.  Pansy found herself then trying to remember if Tracey was even there for dinner, and then she wondered where she would’ve been if not there…  But that wasn’t the point.</p><p>“Yeah, she dumped him yesterday in potions when he tried being a shithead about what Draco did.”  Pansy explained and she saw the anger in Daphne’s face as Tracey reached over and rubbed her shoulder.</p><p>“Merlin, maybe she’s not <em> so </em>bad.  I wanted to break his nose.”  Daphne growled and Pansy shook her head.  While it was sweet that her friends wanted to stand up for her, it would be very stupid for them to do that.</p><p>“Don’t do that, he’s a Gryffindor you’d probably get expelled.  I mean… she’s not someone I want to spend every day with but I’m sure she’d say the same for me.”  Pansy said, resting her chin on her knee.  Daphne nodded and sighed, looking down at her watch as she spoke.  At least someone here was checking the time now.</p><p>“Probably would… shit.”  She cursed and Tracey and Daphne both scrambled to their feet.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and stretched up before answering.</p><p>“What?”  She asked, and Daphne sighed and tugged her off the sink, causing her to stumble before standing up fully.</p><p>“We’re gonna be late for the next hour.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed and covered her face with her hands.  Well that was a wonderful way to end this, as stressed as she was when she started it.</p><p>“Oh Merlin… of course it’s Transfiguration.  McGonagall will <em> kill </em> us if she can smell this on us.”  Pansy groaned and Tracey nodded.  They had to figure out some way to mask it, or else Pansy was fairly certain they’d have detention for the rest of their lives. </p><p>“We could try <em> scourgify </em> ?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy shrugged.  This is why they normally didn’t do this before class, it was easier to get away with it when they only had to go back to their common room. </p><p>“Worth a shot.”  She mumbled, and cast the spell.  It didn’t do much, but it muted the smell enough so that it wasn’t overpowering.  They managed to skid into class right as it was starting, and Pansy found herself mentally cursing when she’d decided she didn’t need to check the time yet.  This all could’ve been avoided so easily.</p><p>“Ms. Davis, Ms. Parkinson, Ms. Greengrass.  How <em>nice </em>of you to join us.”  McGonagall said, her fake happy voice making Pansy’s hair stand on end.  It reminded her a lot of how her mother used to sound whenever Pansy did something they didn’t approve of.</p><p>“Very sorry, professor, we lost track of time.”  Pansy said quickly and McGonagall sighed and sat a little more forward as Pansy tried to ignore the class, whose eyes were now glued on the three girls.</p><p>“Doing what, may I ask?”  She asked and Pansy swallowed on a dry throat.  She couldn’t lie, McGonagall would know she was lying but telling the truth sounded just as bad right now.</p><p>“Um-.”  Before Pansy could mess it up for all three of them, Tracey stepped in front of both of them and cleared her throat.  Well, thankfully one of them possessed the ability to think on her feet.</p><p>“Studying!  We were going over our notes and just… lost track of time.”</p><p>“Well… I suppose since it wasn’t because you were doing anything punishable, I’ll only doc 10 house points <em>total </em>instead of 10 for each of you.  Find seats and sit down.”  McGonagall instructed, and they all uttered a quiet thank you and set off.  Pansy sunk into a seat next to Granger, who coughed and looked at her with a little bit of disgust on her features.  Pansy raised an eyebrow at her as she leaned closer.</p><p>“You smell <em>terrible</em>.”  Granger whispered and Pansy chuckled and shrugged as she pulled out her parchment and quill.  She probably wasn’t wrong, they hadn’t done a lot to mask the smell, just enough that they wouldn’t immediately get caught.</p><p>“How very polite, Granger.  An astute observation.”  Pansy murmured, and Granger rolled her eyes and sighed before bending down.</p><p>“Hold on…” She dug through her things for a moment before pressing a small bottle into Pansy’s hand.  She raised an eyebrow as the Gryffindor sat back up and straightened her hair.  “Spray a little bit of this on you, I keep it on me for when Luna needs it.”  Hermione explained and Pansy’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.  Looney Lovegood?  It was a <em>little </em>bit surprising, not much, but just enough that it was amusing to Pansy.</p><p>“Really?  Luna Lovegood?”  Pansy asked and Hermione snorted quietly and nodded, as though it was obvious.  Honestly though, Pansy had just thought the Ravenclaw was… <em> eccentric </em> , which she was, but she hadn’t thought there was more of a reason then that. </p><p>“I’d say <em> you’re </em> more surprising then she is, now spray it quick.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What exactly <em> would </em> she be spraying, and how had Hermione gotten her hands on it so easily? </p><p>“What does it do?”  Pansy asked and Hermione shrugged, not looking over at her.  Probably to make them look less suspicious.</p><p>“It’s basically like a really powerful perfume, but it takes the smell out of your clothes.”  She explained and Pansy nodded.  Sounded reasonable enough.</p><p>“Brilliant.  Thanks, Granger.  I owe you one.”  Pansy said, and spritzed the spray all over herself, a little bit surprised and how quickly it started to take effect.  She smiled, relief clear on her features as she handed the spray back to Hermione, who tucked it away.</p><p>“You owe me a lot more than one, I just saved you from at least two months detention, happened to George once last year, wasn’t pretty.”  Hermione explained and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  Of all the Weasley’s, the twins were for sure the most reckless so that wasn’t shocking.</p><p>“See, that one doesn’t surprise me.”  Pansy muttered and she saw the ghost of a smirk on Hermione’s face, which made Pansy wonder what <em>else </em>she knew about this stuff.  Probably plenty, she had yet to find a topic that Hermione wasn’t well versed in.</p><p>“I didn’t think it would, it doesn’t surprise anyone.  Now pay attention.”  Hermione whispered and turned back to the front again.  Pansy chuckled and did the same, resting her chin on her hand and sighing.</p><p>“Right, right.”  Pansy murmured, and then proceeded to <em>not </em>pay attention for the entire how, retaining exactly none of what McGonagall said.  It didn’t seem like an important day anyways, because when she glanced over she saw that Hermione only had a couple of inches of notes.  Apparently it just wasn’t a heavy day.</p><hr/><p>It was unlike Granger to be late, and Pansy knew that, but also it had only been a few minutes and maybe she was just-</p><p>“Parkinson.”  Pansy sighed when she heard Ron’s voice ring out behind her from where she was waiting for Hermione in the library.  No, because why should she get a <em> single </em> fucking moment to herself in this school?  It would be too much. </p><p>“Ronald.  What can I do for you?”  Pansy asked, not surprised her voice came out in a monotone with a hint of annoyance.  She didn’t bother looking up from her textbook, she simply flipped the page and raised her eyebrow to signify she was listening.</p><p>“I think we need to talk.”  He said, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  He made it sound like they’d ever had a civil conversation in the past.</p><p>“Do we?  I don’t believe we have anything to talk about currently.”  Pansy drawled and Ron sighed in frustration.  She hated to admit that this was a little bit fun, she’d missed being the aloof asshole, she’d been too busy dealing with the repercussions of Draco’s meltdown and trying to make sure it didn’t get back to her parents.</p><p>“You’re the reason my relationship ended!  I’d say that's something to talk about.”  Ron said, his voice getting progressively louder.  Merlin, does this boy have no respect for the fact that they are in a <em> library </em> right now?! </p><p>“<em> Ahem </em> .”  Madam Pince looked over her glasses with a disapproving glare at  where Pansy was sitting, and Pansy flashed her a fake apologetic smile before letting her face drop and grabbing Ron’s arm, yanking him into the chair next to her. </p><p>“First off, don’t raise your voice. I don’t exactly want to lose more house points today, I’m not a Gryffindor, after all.  It’s not like the headmaster gives them to for existing and not accidentally burning shit down. Second off, sit down if you need to talk to me, don’t loom, it's rude.”  Pansy hissed, and Ron was silent for a moment before putting his hand on Pansy’s shoulder, which she was quick to shake off.  She said <em> talk </em> not <em> touch </em>.</p><p>“You need to tell her to take me back.”  He said quietly, and Pansy snorted and shook her head.  Merlin, like she had control over that.</p><p>“No.”  She said, and Ron looked taken aback by this answer.  Pansy couldn’t figure out why it had been pretty clear he wasn’t going to get any help from her the moment he sat down, it wasn’t like her attitude was new.</p><p>“What?” He asked, and Pansy sighed, shutting her textbooks and finally looking the boy in the face.  She figured he had earned at least some eye contact while she told him to fuck right off about this.</p><p>“No.  Ronald, I don’t control what Hermione does, she broke up with you out of her own volition, I sure as hell didn’t ask her to.”  Pansy explained, and this seemed like a foreign concept to Ron, that maybe Hermione could want someone who wasn’t him, or just want some time to herself.</p><p>“Well can you at least tell her you’re not upset with me for what I was going to say?”  Ron asked and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Did he honestly think that just because Pansy had not retaliated that she wasn’t mad about him wanting to joke about the fact that she’d gotten outed?  Was he crazy?</p><p>“How do you know I’m not?”  Pansy asked, and Ron shrugged, fiddling with his fingers as he spoke. </p><p>“Because I didn’t even say it!” Ron said, his voice getting a little bit more desperate.  Pansy flicked up an eyebrow before responding. </p><p>“Yes, but you had every intent to.”  She said and Ron shifted around in his seat at this.  Pansy knew it was true, or else why start with it?</p><p>“But-.”  She cut him off by raising up a hand and shaking her head.</p><p>“Ronald, my answer is no.  Now go, I’m trying to focus here.”  Pansy said firmly and Ron opened his mouth to speak and then closed it, shaking his head as he stood up from where he’d been sitting.</p><p>“Whatever.”  He spat and stormed out of the library.  Pansy got a blissful couple minutes of silence before there was commotion across from her and she looked up to see Hermione drop her things on the table.</p><p>“Hey!  Sorry I’m late, Harry needed me to look over his Defense essay.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy nodded and turned her focus back onto her textbook.</p><p>“No problem.  I was able to figure out a bit more about the willow, but I’m still looking for the reason we have one on campus, I think it’d be good to include.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked at her strangely, like she couldn’t tell if Pansy was joking or not right now.  She <em> wasn’t </em> . </p><p>“Oh, it hides the entrance to the shrieking shack.  Did you not know this?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy felt her face get a little hot.  She was certain she'd probably learned it, but that didn't mean she retained it.</p><p>“I’m sure I’ve been told, it just didn’t exactly fascinate me so I didn’t retain the knowledge.”  She said, trying to sound like the fact that she'd possibly come across as dumb didn't bother her.  Hermione nodded and gave her a small smile.</p><p>“Alright, I suppose that’s fair.  What did Ron want from you?”  She asked, opening up her textbook.  Pansy rolled her eyes and chuckled.</p><p>“Merlin, he was being such an ass.  He was insisting that I had to tell you to take him back-.”  Hermione raised an eyebrow and sighed.</p><p>“Is he stupid?  You didn’t tell me to do it!”  Hermione said, her voice clearly betraying her irritation at what he’d said.  Pansy thought that was just, he had basically thought that Hermione didn’t have the free will to do it herself.</p><p>“That's what I told him!  And then he said I should tell you I’m not mad at him.”  Pansy explained further and Hermione sighed and shook her head before rubbing her temples.  This had clearly gotten on her nerves a little bit.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter if you’re mad or not, I’m mad that he thought it was okay to try and make light of what had happened.”   Hermione said, and Pansy shrugged.  She hadn’t really given thought to whether or not she was <em> angry </em> per se... </p><p>“I am a little annoyed, but I wouldn’t say I’m <em> mad </em>.  He was being stupid, sometimes teenagers are stupid… He just could’ve picked a better thing to be a dumbass about.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded.</p><p>“That’s exactly my thought on it!  Ron’s always lacked a little bit of… tact, but he was never mean, that was one of the things I loved most about him.  But watching how he interacted with you, it was like watching someone I’d never seen before.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy shrugged.  It wasn’t like she’d been the nicest person all the time either, she knew she could be a bit of a bitch.</p><p>“Well, I’m not totally innocent in that, I was a complete wanker for a while.”  Pansy mumbled.  This apparently wasn’t what Hermione was worried about right now, though Pansy still felt it was a valid thing to bring up, that Ron wasn’t entirely unprovoked; he was acting off of what he knew.</p><p>“Yeah, but you’ve tried your best to change and be a better person, and that should be recognized by him.”  Hermione said, and Pansy couldn’t place why what she had said made her chest feel a little weird, like someone acknowledging that she was changing was weird for her.</p><p>“It might just take time… I get it.”  Pansy said, but this didn’t seem to be what Hermione wanted to hear.</p><p>“But-.”  Pansy sighed and shook her head, just wanting the conversation to be over.</p><p>“Hermione, I’ve got a lot of things to atone for, it's not a huge surprise they sort of caught up to me.  Let’s just focus, okay?”  Pansy asked and Hermione opened and closed her mouth before finally nodding</p><p>“Yeah, alright.”  She said, and Pansy let out a breath of relief.  She hadn’t meant for it be such a big conversation piece.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Lonley Road Ahead</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>TW homophobia</p>
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    <p>The most surprising thing about hanging out more with Hermione was that she was funnier than Pansy had expected her to be.  The past couple years, she’d been in the background, constantly overshadowed by the Chosen one and his loud, loud best friend and now Pansy could not figure out why.  Hermione was definitely the smartest, that alone should’ve put her right in front as the leader of their group.  Maybe they’d get into less shit if that were the case.</p><p>“You will not believe what Ron did last night to try and win me back.”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised her eyebrow, not entirely sure if she cared enough to hear this.  Like yes, she and Hermione were <em> friendly </em> but they were by no means friends.  But she supposed she would rather talk rather than walk the whole way to the Whomping Willow in silence. </p><p>“Do tell, we’ve got a bit of a walk out to the tree anyways.” Pansy said and Hermione let out a small chuckle and shook her head, as if what she was about to say was so ridiculous even <em> she </em> couldn’t believe it was going to be coming out of her mouth.  It's funny to see Hermione Granger laugh, most of the time she just seems so serious. </p><p>“Okay so, my favorite candy is Sugar quills, right?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shook her head.  How was she supposed to know that?</p><p>“I don’t know, I really don’t know you all that well.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione nodded, as if realizing her mistake.  The last three weeks had really been a bit of blur, and Pansy supposed she could see where the other girl may have thought she said something about it to her.</p><p>“Well, they are.  Anyways, so he went to honeydukes and bought a dozen of them and arranged them like a bouquet and tried to give them to me, thinking that would be enough to make me forget the whole thing and fall back into his arms.” She said, and Pansy wrinkled her nose up.  Was that romantic?  Did people <em> actually </em>think that was romantic?  Just giving people a bunch of things arranged to look like something else?</p><p>“What did you do?”  Pansy asked, the distaste clear in her voice.  What had once been just an aversion to the redheaded boy had brewed into a total dislike ever since he’d taken to all but stalking her whenever she and Hermione had to meet up for their project.  She’d almost excused it when the two were dating, but now it just made no sense.  Hermione cocked her head and raised an eyebrow at Pansy’s query, as if the answer was written in the sky.</p><p>“Is it not obvious?”  Hermione asked, the amusement rather clear in her voice.  This made Pansy a little annoyed because she couldn’t read Hermione’s mind, so how would she know her intentions?</p><p>“Clearly not…”  Pansy answered and Hermione shook her head and looked forward again as she answered.</p><p>“I took them out of his hand and handed one of them out to each person in the common room, and then walked back to him and <em> politely </em>told him to fuck off.  Like yeah, I want to be his friend again at some point when he pulls his head out of his ass, but right now he’s just not great to be around.”  Hermione explained and this did make sense, Pansy knew Hermione was smart enough to not be won over by one tiny thing objectively, but sometimes the heart makes the mind react in strange ways.</p><p>“I do feel a little bad that I broke up a six month relationship.”  Pansy said, and Hermione shook her head and sighed.  She and Pansy had been through this over and over during the last weeks but Pansy still carried that shame.  She did feel bad, even if Ron <em> was </em> being a royal pain in her ass.</p><p>“Don’t feel bad about that.  I honestly think Ron and I were heading that way anyways.  We weren’t well matched, there was just all this external pressure to get together, what with his mom always hinting at it and his brothers teasing him about how he’d never find anyone.  I think in his head we were going to get married and have a bunch of little ginger babies and live with his parents until we died.”  Hermione said, and the distaste was clear in her voice, and Pansy could see why.  Hermione didn’t exactly seem like the type to want to play housewife for her entire life, she honestly seemed like she might have a long future with the ministry, or even as an auror, Merlin knows she has the intelligence for it.</p><p>“So they were pressuring him.  Not you.  Why did you say yes?”  Pansy asked and the other witch shrugged, as if again, the answer should be obvious.  It wasn't.</p><p>“He asked me out like ten times, eventually I said yes because it was easier than enduring another awkward encounter.”  She said and Pansy chuckled quietly and shook her head, a little amused that <em> that </em>was the best logic someone as smart as Hermione could come up with.</p><p>“<em> Merlin </em> .”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione raised an eyebrow and looked over at her, as if expecting a fight.  Pansy had realized that there were certain things that Hermione reacted aversely to from her, when she had too much sarcasm in her voice, if she got a little too annoyed, all of these things seemed to set off Hermione's fight or flight and she could see why, the girl had been bullied by Slytherins for <em> years </em>.</p><p>“What?” Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged, not quite knowing how to articulate that Ron was a little desperate from his reactions.</p><p>“Men are… <em> interesting </em>.”  She tried and Hermione laughed.</p><p>“Thats certainly a word for it.  What about you, anything interesting happened to you recently?”  Hermione asked as they rounded over the hill, now only a couple of paces from the willow tree.  Pansy sighed and tucked some of the hair that had fallen in her face back behind her ear.  She didn’t want to admit that since the letter had gone out everything had gotten way worse, that she didn’t like being alone anymore for fear of what could happen to her so she played it off like everything was fine.</p><p>“No, unless you count a couple of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws figuring out they <em> really </em> like using the word dyke to describe me.”  She grumbled and Hermione stopped in her tracks, crossing her arms.  Pansy could practically <em> feel </em>the anger rolling off of her, and it made her feel a little bit on edge.</p><p>“Names?”  She asked and Pansy was quick to shake her head.  She didn’t want her getting involved.</p><p>“Hermione.  No.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione looked a little annoyed at this but did concede.</p><p>“Fine.  Does Daphne know this is happening?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy noted that Daphne’s name coming off of her lips sounded forced.  No doubt they had had run ins in the past, Pansy knew this but she still found it amusing that the other witch was uncomfortable saying a <em> name </em>.  Pansy grimaced at the question because yeah, now she understood her friends supported her but that didn’t make her want to reach out any more then it had before.</p><p>“What?  No!”  She said and Hermione smirked and shrugged.</p><p>“Hm… Perhaps someone should tell her.”  Hermione said and Pansy gripped her wand tightly.  While she didn’t have a <em> want </em>to hex the other witch anymore, that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t do it if need be.</p><p>“Hermione I swear to-.”  She started and Hermione held up her hand to Pansy before she could finish her empty threat.</p><p>“I’m not going to do it, I just want you to consider telling your friends when something is bothering you.  From what you’ve told me Daphne and Tracey are both really supportive of you, I’m sure if they knew something like that was happening they’d want to do something about it.” Hermione said and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Yes her friends were supportive but nobody should have to get involved!</p><p>“Exactly why I’m <em> not </em> telling them that something like that is going on.  It isn’t their place to worry about it.”  Pansy snapped and Hermione sighed and reached out for her arm, but Pansy jerked away.  She didn't <em>want </em>pity and she didn't want to talk about this!</p><p>“Pansy-.”  She started and Pansy snapped her head up and clenched her jaw.  She was reminded again why she didn’t befriend Gryffindors.  Far too righteous, it was really getting on her nerves.</p><p>“Let it go, or I’m going back to calling you Granger.”  Pansy warned and this amused Hermione quite a bit.</p><p>“Testy today, aren’t we?”  Hermione teased and Pansy smacked her arm.  She was <em> not </em>testy, it was perfectly normal to be annoyed with people trying to pry into your personal life!</p><p>“Hey!  I am not.”  She insisted and Hermione chuckled and shook her head</p><p>“Fine, fine you’re not.  But next time do me one favor?”  Hermione asked and Pansy sighed, willing to do anything to just let this conversation fizzle out.</p><p>“What's that?”  She asked and Hermione smirked and raised an eyebrow at her.  Uh oh.  Something told her that agreeing to this would not be easy.</p><p>“Make it through <em> one </em> uncomfortable situation with me without threatening to backpedal.”  Hermione said and Pansy scoffed and rolled her eyes.  What she called Hermione was the one thing of leverage she had over the other witch. </p><p>“I don’t know, that sounds intentionally difficult.”  Pansy said and Hermione sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, but the smile was still evident on her face.</p><p>“It's… really just not.  The rest of the world can do it.”  Hermione snorted as they finally approached the tree.</p><p>“Yes but I am not the rest of the world.  I am special, one of a kind and-.”  She was cut off by Hermione suddenly knocking her to the ground, and Pansy wheezed from the impact of the earth, and smacked her head.  Ouch.</p><p>“WATCH OUT.”  Hermione shouted and Pansy was shocked by the girls strength when they both fell onto the ground, Hermione falling on top of her.  Before they stood up, Pansy realized just how <em> nice </em> Hermione smelled, and thought maybe she should ask what her perfume was, but decided against it, so as to not sound weird. </p><p>“Thanks.  But I think you sort of defeated the purpose by tackling me, I still hit my head pretty hard.”  Pansy said, grimacing as she rubbed the back of her head, now tender from smacking the ground.  Hermione laughed and nodded, sitting up onto her knees and holding her hand out to Pansy.</p><p>“Yes, but at least you don’t have a tree branch through your eye.  Now c’mon, get up.  We have to observe.”  She said, raising an eyebrow and Pansy huffed and looked away from her.  Her head was <em> actually </em> aching from that, it wasn’t a joke. </p><p>“But my head-.”  Pansy complained and Hermione shook her head and gripped her hand tightly.</p><p>“Come on, you big baby.  I barely touched you.”  Hermione insisted, and hauled her to her feet.  Pansy rolled her eyes and sent a slight look of hurt Hermione’s way.</p><p>“Must you wound me in such a way?”  She asked and Hermione nodded, smoothing down her hair from the fall and biting her lip, clearly to keep a smile at bay.</p><p>"Somebody has to humble you, if not me, then who?”  Hermione asked with a small smile.  Apparently she wasn’t able to control her amusement.  Pansy rolled her eyes and huffed, not wanting to give the other witch the satisfaction of admitting she’s right.</p><p>“I guess we’ll <em> never </em>know now.  Lets just get to work, Gr-Hermione.”  She snapped and Hermione chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  Pansy was a little bit surprised at the casual affection, it wasn’t something her friends normally did, but it also wasn’t an unwelcome difference.  It sort of made her feel like Hermione maybe wanted her around, and she can’t help but admit that it did feel sort of nice to know that.</p><hr/><p>She wasn’t normally one who frequented quidditch games, but she decided that since there was nothing better to do today, she might as well attend one.  This apparently surprised <em> multiple </em>people in the Slytherin stands when Pansy shuffled past them to find an empty seat in the back, and thats when the whispers started.</p><p>“-Surprised she can show her face.”  </p><p>“-Don’t think I’d want to sit next to a Dyke-.”  “</p><p>“-Probably just trying to see up the girl players robes-.”  </p><p>“-Family must be so disappointed, my father would kill me.”</p><p>“Pansy?”  Damnit.  There goes blending into the woodwork for a time.  Daphne stood up and waved at her, and Pansy attempted to pretend like she didn’t see her.</p><p>“Shit…”  Pansy mumbled and looked away from the commotion.</p><p>“Parkinson, I’m not letting you sit alone, come down here or I’m coming up there.”  Daphne called, and then there was quiet, other then the match, for about five minutes, and then the sound of someone climbing the stands until Daphne dropped down next to her.</p><p>“Fucks sake!  Hi.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed.  No use in acting like she couldn’t see Daphne now, is there?</p><p>“Hey.”  Pansy said and Daphne pulled her lips into a tight line, as if she was trying to figure out what to say.  All that thinking, and she decided on smacking Pansy’s arm -a little hard, if she was being honest- and leaning close to her.</p><p>“Why not come down there, sit with the rest of our friends.  You remember <em> friends </em> right, Pansy?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy almost hexed her for her tone alone on that one. </p><p>“Don’t exactly feel like walking down past a bunch of people who think I’m a disgrace to the Slytherin house, alright?”  Pansy whispered and Daphne’s eyes flashed with anger. Oh great, exactly what Pansy was <em> trying </em> to avoid.  Ugh. </p><p>“What?  Who’s saying that?”  She asked, glaring, scrutinizing every person in her vicinity.  Pansy huffed and crossed her arms.</p><p>“None of your business, Greengrass.  Let's just let it go, it's not like they’re wrong.  I am a disgrace and-.”  Pansy was quickly cut off.</p><p>“Shut up!  You’re not, and I’m not gonna sit here and let you say that shit about yourself right now, it's getting old.”  Daphne said with a sigh, flicking her hair out of her face.</p><p>“... Fine.”  Pansy mumbled and Daphne nodded, obviously satisfied with what had been said.</p><p>“-Heard Draco dumped her because he caught her with some gir-.” The boy in front of her was quickly interrupted by Daphne yanking him up by the back of his robe</p><p>“Hey!  You!  Microdick!  Got something to say?” Daphne growled and the boy chuckled and wriggled out of her grip, looking up at them with an annoyingly cocky smile.</p><p>“Not to <em> you. </em>”  He said, pointedly looking at Pansy.  Normally, she didn’t look away from a challenge but right now </p><p>“Anything you want to say to my <em> friend </em> you’ll say to me.  And I’ll dictate whether you get to keep your limbs intact.”  Daphne snarled and the boy must have realized he was in more danger then he originally thought, and turned around.  Pansy was equal parts relieved and annoyed, because why pick a fight if you don’t <em> finish </em> it. </p><p>“Whatever, she’s not worth it.”  The boy sneered and Daphne’s jaw clenched, like the moment before a storm.  Pansy could tell that was going to happen, and she pulled Daphne back to her seat.</p><p>“AND FOR THE RECORD, SHE BROKE UP WITH HIM!”  Daphne yelled, trying to go after them, but Pansy held her into her seat, gritting her teeth.  She wasn’t in the mood for a big spectacle right now, enough had been done.</p><p>“Daph, it's fine.”  Pansy whispered and Daphne shot her a glare and huffed, pulling her arm loose and crossing them.</p><p>“It's <em> not </em> fine.”  She hissed and Pansy rolled her eyes.  It was <em> her </em> life, why did everyone else feel the need to dictate it for her? </p><p>“Really not your place to decide that.”  Pansy mumbled and Daphne sighed and shook her head.</p><p>“You’d let every person in this house harass you if it meant that eventually this would all blow over, you’re not the best judge of what's fine and what isn’t, Pans.”</p><p>“Oh and <em> you </em>are?”  Pansy sneered, a little relieved that some of her tone showed through.   She felt that since the letter, she’d had less of an edge.</p><p>“Well I certainly wouldn’t let some lowlife asshole dictate my story.  And neither should you.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed, rubbing her temples.  She just did <em> not </em> understand the stress Pansy was under right now. </p><p>“Daph… I know that, but you don’t <em> understand </em>what happens if my dad finds out about me.”  Pansy said and Daphne blinked, as if the thought of her not understanding was ridiculous. It wasn’t, Pansy had never explained, she’d never wanted to.</p><p>“You’ll get disowned, of course I know.”  Daphne said, and Pansy almost laughed because she <em> wished </em> it were that simple.  But her dad would make it so much worse then just disowning her, and she knew that. </p><p>“He could kill me.”  Pansy explained and Daphne sighed and shook her head, as though Pansy was being ridiculous.  She wasn’t, she was actually being quite logical about all this.  Daphne was the one being <em> ridiculous </em> in Pansy’s opinion. </p><p>“He wouldn’t.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed.  Why wasn’t this sinking <em> in </em> for her? </p><p>“He <em> would </em> .  He already doesn’t like that I was born a woman because he has no heir.  How do you think he’s going to feel if he finds out I fancy ladies?”  She asked and Daphne blinked once, chewing on her lip as though they have to <em> think </em> about it. </p><p>“He probably wouldn’t take it all that well…”  She said and Pansy rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her hand.</p><p>“Exactly.  That's why I’m thinking of maybe patching it up with Draco.  Maybe all of this will stop if he and I just-.”  Daphne was quick to stop her talking.</p><p>“<em> No </em> .  Don’t go back to him, that's exactly what he wants.  He has a secret too he’s trying to hide, I can see it in his eyes.  That's why he lashed out at you when he thought you were ignoring him.  It put <em> whatever </em>he was worried about closer to be seen.”  Daphne said, and Pansy felt like she was at a loss.  She wasn’t happy with him but she was in danger without him.</p><p>“But without him… my father could-.”  Daphne cut her off and held her hand tightly.  Pansy suppressed the urge to pull it away.</p><p>“If your father comes after you, you’ve got at least three people who will defend you.  Me,Tracey, and as much as it <em> pains </em> me to say it… Granger.  That's a good amount.”  Daphne said, and Pansy smiled a little bit at the fact that it had gone from ‘that muggle one, you know the one with the hair?’ to ‘Granger’ so quickly.  It showed some growth. </p><p>“I’ve also been talking to Ginny, you know, the Weasley girl.”  Pansy said, a little nervous about Daphnes reaction to her talking to someone of that <em> status. </em> But to her surprise Daphne smirked and leaned closer to her </p><p>“Like <em> talking </em> or-.” Pansy cut her off with a grimace because <em> yeah </em> Ginny was nice but not really her type.  She was more one for the academic type, not the sporty type. </p><p>“No!  Just having conversations with.  Seems like she’s the only one from that family with a good head on her shoulders.”  Pansy mumbled and Daphnes eyebrow shot up.  Oh, here it goes.</p><p>“Oh.  Well its good to know you’ve found someone with a level head-.” She put a hand on Daphnes shoulder to try and silence her a bit.</p><p>“Daphne, don’t take it like that.”  She said softly and Daphne nodded, but still looked a little annoyed</p><p>“I know, I know.  Just saying-.” Pansy sighed and cut her off, giving her a pointed look.  She didn’t want to get into this right now.</p><p>“<em> Daph. </em>”  Pansy could tell Daphne was a little offended that Ginny was a confidant before she was, but Daphne also wasn’t… like her, from what Pansy could tell.</p><p>“Right.”  She sighed and there was a sudden silence over the field, rather unusual for quidditch, from what Pansy could remember from when she used to watch Draco.</p><p>“-AND IT LOOKS LIKE POTTER’S BEEN KNOCKED OFF HIS BROOM!  <em> OH </em> THAT'S A NASTY FALL!  IT SEEMS LIKE POTTER IS DOWN FOR THE COUNT.”  The announcer shouted and Pansy heard someone scream Harry’s name and knew it was Hermione, without even having to look over.  She didn’t know what possessed her to get out of her seat and make her way towards the stairs, Daphne following hot on her heels.</p><p>“Where are you-.”  Daphne started and Pansy whipped her head around, eyes blazing.  Something in her was screaming to go find Hermione, and she couldn’t tell why.  They weren’t even close, but she just felt the need to comfort her and she didn’t want to talk about that right now.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it!”  She snarled and Daphne looked taken aback for all of a minute before her gaze hardened.</p><p>“Well I’m coming with you, because you’re acting erratic!”  Daphne snapped back and Pansy rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Fine!”  She said, and Daphne nodded.</p><p>“Fine!”  Daphne snapped and with that Pansy started to run, getting caught up in a sea of Gryffindor robes, trying to ignore the looks and sneers she got while she elbowed her way through the crowd to the front, where Hermione was standing in front of the infirmary door, obviously stricken with fear.</p><p>“Hermione?”  Pansy asked quietly, reaching out towards her, and the girl looked at her and was about to speak when Pansy was shoved aside by a streak of red, and she immediately stiffened.  Ron.  She should’ve known they’d get back together, and she had no logical reason to be upset by that.  If anything she should be happy, she would finally have some time to her fucking self again.</p><p>“‘Mione.”  He said, and reached out for her.  Pansy rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, a little sick of the glares currently trained at her back.</p><p>“Oh it's awful.”  Hermione- no, <em> Granger </em> - whimpered.  It was difficult to walk away and Pansy couldn’t decipher why, but she knew she had to try. </p><p>“Hey, it's okay, I’ve got you-.”  Ron started and there was a commotion before Pansy felt a force cling onto her from behind and she looked down to see two arms wrapped around her, and she could smell Hermione’s perfume.</p><p>“Pansy!”  She sobbed, and Pansy’s eyes widened because <em> this </em> was going to make her a target of some very specific shit. </p><p>“What the bloody <em> hell </em> ?”  Ron growled and that was enough to cause Pansy to narrow her eyes and turn around, wrapping her arms around the other witch, resting her chin on top of her head. </p><p>“Um.  Hey, it-it’ll be alright.  Potter’s pretty stubborn, he hasn’t died yet, yeah?  Gonna take a lot more than one nasty fall to take him out.”  Pansy whispered, and Hermione tucked her head against Pansy’s chest and let out a shaky breath.</p><p>“It was awful to see, Pans.  His leg is all-.”  With that sentence Hermione’s voice was cut off with a choked sob and she fell against Pansy more, causing them to slide to the ground, Pansy catching Hermione close to her, still unsure if she was even <em> doing </em> this right.  She wasn’t normally one to provide much comfort.  Pansy tried to ignore the odd feeling in her stomach at the sound of Hermione using her nickname. </p><p>“Don’t think about it, I’ve got you.”  Pansy muttered, and rubbed Hermione’s back as the other girl let out sobs.  It took a moment for Pansy to notice that she was being stared down as if she was going to hex the crying girl at any moment, and she opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a figure stepped in front of her.</p><p>“What?  What are you all staring at!  Sod off, she can comfort her friend without you all looking at her like she’s some kind of criminal!”  Daphne snapped, and the Gryffindors all looked a little taken aback by this, but before any of them could respond another voice piped up.</p><p>“You heard her!  Leave them alone, its not the time to be pointing fingers, clearly <em> Parkinson </em> has nothing to do with Harry’s injury!”  Ginny said, and the Gryffindors started to speak again, and Pansy grinned at Daphne. </p><p>“Thanks, Daph.”  She muttered and Daphne nodded and trained her gaze back on the group of people.</p><p>“I’ve got your back.  And Granger… sorry about your friend, that looked really rough.”  Daphne said in a rather stinted voice, like she felt like she would offend the Gryffindor just by speaking.  But Hermione simply sniffled and tucked her head tighter against Pansy.</p><p>“... Thanks, Greengrass.”  She managed and Daphne looked forward again, squaring off the two other witches.  After what felt like forever of holding Hermione and letting her sob until there was nothing left, Pansy went to stand up, but found she was effectively ancored the ground, and she looked down at Hermione with surprise.</p><p>“You want me to stay?”  Pansy asked and for a long minute, Hermione was completely silent.  Pansy honestly considered just wriggling out of the other girl’s grip and walking away, but before she could, she heard her let out a shuddering sigh.</p><p>“Please.”  She whispered, and honestly how could Pansy <em> not </em> ?  Hermione was <em> crying </em>, her friend was brutally injured, and yeah he’d probably be all healed within a week but that doesn’t make it anymore terrifying for the moment, so Pansy held on tight, trying her hardest for once to be the one that made everything okay.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Technicalties</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter, I was out of town and just got back.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Over the last couple of years, Pansy has managed to master the art of appearing interested in conversations that she has <em> no </em>actual bearing in or care for, its a staple if you’re expected to marry rich and in high status, listening and looking engaged in conversations is more likely to make the man you’re trying to get the affections of to notice you, and thus let their guards down, it was simple Pureblood etiquette.  But she’d found this much harder to do recently, especially in her dorm with her friends, she just couldn’t engage, it had become so tiring to even try.</p><p>“Pans?  Got anything to contribute?”  She heard Tracey ask, and she flipped around in her bed to face everyone and raised her eyebrow.“Hm?  Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention, what were we talking about?”  Pansy asked and Daphne sighed and leaned back on her palms before answering.</p><p>“Tracey was just telling us about some Ravenclaw boy she’s been talking to, and I was talking about how I <em> might </em> try talking to Blaise again-.”  Pansy shook her head, cutting Daphne off before she could even finish.  She did <em> not </em> want to deal with that mess again, she’d literally rather be burned alive by a dragon. </p><p>“Don’t do it, you regret it every time, Greengrass and then we all have to hear about how ‘he’s such a good guy he’s just confused right now’.  He uses you for emotional support and then leaves you high and dry for weeks.  Do you <em> really </em> want to have to go through that for a fourth time?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne was silent for a moment as though she was <em> really </em>considering it, which Pansy did realize wasn't impossible, its important to weigh your options.</p><p>“... I guess not but-.” Daphne was cut off by Tracey launching a crumpled ball of parchment at her head and scowling.</p><p>“No buts!  Seriously!”  Tracey snapped and Daphne sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, looking a little pained at what she had to do.  Pansy understood that, letting go of Draco fully was terrifying, it's like letting go of some form of safety, even if the safety system does nothing to keep you safe and is actually just trying to destroy you from the inside.</p><p>“You guys are probably right.  I should just let him go.”  Daphne said somberly and Pansy nodded, satisfied with the result of this… from what she could tell… small conversation.  Daphne had far better ways to be spending her time.</p><p>“Exactly, let him <em>go</em>.  He’s not important to your life, you can get on without him.”  Pansy said, and the conversation drifted for a while, allowing Pansy to effectively unfocus so she could remember what she had to do that night.  Potions, research-.</p><p>“What about you, Parkinson?  Got your eye on anyone?”  Tracey asked and Pansy focused back in and chuckled, shaking her head.  That would have to mean she’d found a girl worth the trouble of actually <em>being </em>with.  And she had yet to find anyone who even slightly met her level, so she wasn’t exactly in a hurry.</p><p>“<em>Merlin</em> no.  I’m very content in my life right now.  Not to mention I don’t think there <em>is </em>anyone to fancy at this school.  No one even wants to be around me, I’ve all but become a social pariah since Draco outed me.”  Pansy said cooly, thinking that would be the end of it, but instead, Tracey smirked and leaned forward, looking like a cat that had just eaten a canary.</p><p>“I mean you and Granger seem to be getting… cozy.”  She teased and Pansy’s mouth dropped open because she didn’t know how to respond to that.  Hermione and her relationship was professional, nothing more. ‘<em>You did run after her and hold her’ </em> A voice in her head whispered, but she chose to ignore it.</p><p>“We are <em>not</em>.  We’re just working on a project together, that's all.”  Pansy said, hopefully in a tone that would just shut them all up, but again, it didn’t work.  What the fuck?  Was she <em>seriously </em>losing her edge to these people?  She had to start being a bit more of a bitch again, she’d just been so tired lately that it had fallen away a bit.</p><p>“You also held her for literally an hour when Potter got his knee smashed in, that doesn’t just seem like project partners to me.” Daphne said, her voice liliting up at the end, and Pansy rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Fine, we’re friendly, but nothing more!  I’m being serious!”  Pansy insisted.  Honestly this was ridiculous, how could they think she fancied <em>Hermione?</em>  They’re far too different for that, plus its not like Granger would return her feelings to begin with.</p><p>“Alright, alright.  We’ll stop pushing, sorry.”  Daphne insisted, and Pansy nodded curtly.  Exactly as they <em> should </em> , as it's none of their business. </p><p>“Thank you!”  Pansy said, and stood up, walking towards the door only to feel someone grab her arm and hold her back.  She tried her best to keep calm, but she was a little sick of feeling like someone was babysitting her.</p><p>“Where the hell are you going?” Daphne asked and Pansy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why did she have to <em> tell </em> people?  She wasn’t risking anything, it's <em> far </em> before curfew, there's no need to worry. </p><p>“Library.  I have to go work on my project since I <em> clearly </em>won’t be getting any work done in here tonight.”  Pansy said, noticing the tone edging into her voice as she looked back at Daphne.  The other girl chewed on her lip, as if she was debating whether Pansy should go, which was ridiculous because she didn’t have a say.</p><p>“Pans-.”  Pansy sighed and tugged her arm away from her.</p><p>“Let me go, Daph.  I just want to go study.”  Pansy said, careful to keep her tone calm. Daphne blinked, as if she was shocked that Pansy didn’t snap at her.</p><p>“You aren’t mad?”  She asked carefully and Pansy shrugged.</p><p>“Why would I be mad?”  Pansy asked and Daphne contemplated how to say it.  She was taking so long Pansy was about ready to scream at her to get to the point, but that wouldn’t accomplish <em>anything </em>at this point, except proving Daphne's point that maybe she <em>was </em>mad, but she couldn't figure out what was causing that.</p><p>“Well because-nevermind I guess.  Have fun… studying.”  Daphne said, as though the sentence made her ill to say.  Pansy laughed and patted her shoulder as she turned back around and started heading for the door.</p><p>“It's not meant to be fun, Greengrass.  It's meant to be <em>productive</em>.”  Pansy called over her shoulder, and shut the entrance to the dungeon behind her, sighing in relief.  She couldn’t quite place it, but something with the dorm conversation had gotten on her nerves a bit, it was nice to be alone for the moment.  She walked up to the library and found the furthest back table and started to get settled.  She was just about to start writing when she heard someone clear their throat.  ‘Great’ Pansy thought, taking a deep breath ‘lets hope they at least have some variety in their insults this time.’</p><p>“Is this seat taken?”  She heard someone ask and she clenched her hand tightly on her quill and snapped her head up.</p><p>“What makes you think you have the right to-Oh.  Hermione.  No, it's open, go ahead.”  Pansy said, feeling her face get a little hot with embarrassment from how she had reacted, but apparently the reaction hadn’t fazed Hermione, who sat right down.  Part of Pansy was confused as to why she wasn’t sitting with Potter and Weasel, until she looked over and saw them fucking around and causing a commotion instead of working.</p><p>“Thanks, everywhere else is… sort of loud.”  Hermione mumbled, and Pansy smirked and leaned a bit over the table as Hermione got more settled in the seat across from her.</p><p>“The trick is to sit in the back, you’re almost bound to be the only one there.”  Pansy said, and Hermione let a little smile on her lips and chuckled, her demeanor relaxing a bit.  Honestly, Pansy couldn’t figure out <em> why </em>the other witch spent so much time around those two, they only seem to cause her stress at this point, and the friendship seemed rather one sided from where she was sitting, watching the boys mess around.  They only seemed to listen to Hermione when they needed help on homework -Potter less than Weasley, but there was still that disconnect with both of them.-</p><p>“I suppose so.  What are you working on?”  Hermione asked, pulling Pansy back out of her thoughts.  She cleared her throats and gestured to the notes in front of her.  She was a little surprised Hermione hadn’t noticed her parchment from class, the other day she’d made a comment about how shocking it was that she could fit all her notes on one parchment and ‘you’d better be pulling your weight, Pans.’  She was joking, but it still seemed like something that might stick in the other girl’s head, but apparently not.</p><p>“Compiling some of the notes I’ve taken for our project, just getting stuff in order.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione’s face seemed to light up at this explanation, like it was the most exciting thing in the entire world.</p><p>“Mind if I take a look?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed and raised her eyebrow, wondering why Hermione would even need to.  She probably had everything there was to know about Whomping Willows <em> memorized </em>at this point.</p><p>“I guess not but-.”  Pansy was cut off by Hermione standing up and walking around the table.</p><p>“I know we have basically the same notes but it never hurts to see it from a second perspective, Pans.”  She stated and Pansy thought for a moment, and she guessed it made sense, even if it <em> did </em>seem a little weird.</p><p>“... Right.”  Pansy said quietly, and Hermione leaned in a little bit, just over Pansy’s right shoulder.</p><p>“You have very nice handwriting, it’s very… clear.”  Hermione muttered and Pansy didn’t quite know how to take that, it seemed like a compliment, but also a little backhanded because Hermione <em> did </em>sound surprised.</p><p>“Thank you?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione made a little noise of surprise.</p><p>“Oh!  Hold on, you misspelled something, makes it a little difficult to read after realizing that.  Sorry, do you mind?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shook her head.  Better to have accurate notes instead of studying it wrong.</p><p>“Not at all.”  Pansy said, and Hermione leaned fully over her, resting her elbows on the table as she scribbled out the mistake and wrote the correct spelling, but Pansy wasn’t focused on that, she was more focused again on how nice Hermione smelt.  Like a mix of cinnamon and flowers, it was quite pleasant.  Hermione straightened back up and Pansy looked away, not wanting the other girl to notice what she’d been doing.  It’s not like it was done on <em> purpose </em>, it’s hard not to smell someone when they're right in front of you, breathing is involuntary it’s bound to happen, right?</p><p>“Are you alright?”  She asked and Pansy looked up at her and raised an eyebrow.  Did she not look well?  She was <em>feeling </em>well...</p><p>“Hm?  Yeah,  why wouldn’t I be?”  Pansy asked and Hermione shrugged, pulling her hair back out of her face as she spoke.</p><p>“I don’t know, you just looked really lost in thought there for a moment.”  She stated and Pansy sighed and patted the other girl's arm.  While it was <em> nice </em>that people worried sometimes, they need to remember that she’s not made of glass, and thinking isn’t a bad thing.  Maybe she should be upset that Hermione took her just thinking for being ill… but that seemed like a stretch.</p><p>“I’m okay, ‘Mione.”  Pansy insisted, but Hermione didn’t look entirely convinced.  She did let it go though, which is more than Pansy could say about Daphne half the time.</p><p>“Okay.  Well, our notes are pretty much the same, save for your typo, so that’s a pretty good sign that we’re on the right track.  What else do you need to work on?”  Hermione asked, starting to walk back to her side of the table.</p><p>“I haven’t finished my potions essay yet, but-.”  Pansy’s explanation was cut off by the look of disbelief on Hermione’s face.  It was almost comical, she seemed offended that <em> Pansy </em>hadn’t finished her work.</p><p>“Pansy!  That’s due tomorrow!”  Hermione said, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  Hermione acted like their potions class was first thing, and it wasn’t.  She had the time to do it in other classes.</p><p>“I know but I can just do it in the morning.”  Pansy said, and Hermione sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose, shooting a glare at Pansy.</p><p>“I swear sometimes you’re as bad as Harry and-.”  She was quick to cut Hermione off with a grimace because the day she’s compared to Weasley is the day hell freezes over.</p><p>“Stop at Potter, please.  I don’t wish to be insulted today.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, walking back to Pansy’s side.</p><p>“Right. Well.”  Hermione sat in the seat directly beside Pansy. “I’m not leaving this spot until you finish your paper.”  She said and Pansy shook her head, resting her chin on her hand and glancing over at the other girl.  She was fully serious about this, Merlin.</p><p>“Hermione-.”  Pansy sighed, but the other girl simply held up a hand to silence her, and settled deeper into her chair.</p><p>“I mean it!  I’ve got nowhere to go!  I’ve finished my homework for the next two weeks.  I could sit here for days and-.”  Pansy sighed and shook her head, just wanting the other girl to stop <em> talking </em>right now.  She couldn’t exactly work if someone’s talking her ear off.</p><p>“... Fine.”  Pansy spat and Hermione grinned at her and patted her hand softly.</p><p>“See, now was that so hard?” She asked and Pansy shot a glare at her and picked up her quill</p><p>“Not <em> hard, </em> just boring.”  Pansy muttered, thinking she was quiet enough that Hermione wouldn’t hear, but of <em> course </em> little miss perfect heard her.  </p><p>“It’s not boring if you actually try.”  Hermione insisted, and honestly Pansy could age her down to when they were first years and she’d seen the girl lecturing Weasley about not doing his homework and using a similar excuse.  She supposed this school was a little more interesting to Hermione, she hadn’t grown up with magic, whereas Pansy was surrounded by it from birth, or course she didn’t find it boring.</p><p>“What’s in it for me.”  Pansy asked and Hermione let out a laugh that was just a little too loud, earning them a glare from Madam Pince.</p><p>“A good grade, a sense of accomplishment-.”  Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  She needed something <em> concrete </em> that actually made her want to do this assignment 12 hours before she was going to start it.</p><p>“Please, I can get that anywhere.”  Pansy said and Hermione sighed and shook her head.</p><p>“<em> And </em> I’ll sit next to you in potions tomorrow so Draco can’t… and so Ron won’t bother you too much.”  Hermione said and Pansy chuckled.  It was cute of Hermione to think she could <em> stop </em>Ron from irritating her, it kind of had become an everyday thing by now, a ritual.</p><p>“He still will.”  Pansy said, and Hermione rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples, as if this whole conversation was annoying her.  That <em> was </em>a bit of Pansy’s intention, maybe if she irritated the other girl enough, this whole insistence on her changing her routine would stop.  But no such luck.</p><p>“I know I said not <em> too </em> much.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy rolled her eyes.  All these fucking <em> technicalites </em>almost don’t make it worth it.  Almost.</p><p>“Fine.  You’ve got a deal,’Mione.”  Pansy said, and the look of satisfaction on Hermione’s face was almost too much for her to bear.  It felt wrong, letting a Gryffindor win.</p><p>“Thought so.”  Hermione said, honestly a little too smug for her own good.  Pansy set down her quill and looked fully at the other witch.</p><p>“So full of yourself it’s honestly annoying-.” Pansy started, but she was interrupted by Hermione's ‘stop talking’ look, it honestly gave McGonagall a run for her money.</p><p>“<em> Pansy. </em> Work.”  Hermione reminded her and Pansy sighed.  She should work hard on this essay, while she wasn’t struggling in potions her grade <em> could </em> be better and that might just convince her father to not kill her if he were to find out about her… <em> leanings  </em></p><p>“Right.”  She mumbled and she’d been working for about twenty minutes, Hermione occasionally interjecting so Pansy could see a point of error, when they were made aware of someone just… standing there.</p><p>“Hey ‘Mione?”  The figure asked and Pansy groaned and rested her head on the table.  The thought of having to deal with Ron Weasley <em> and </em>a potions essay was enough to give her a migraine.  Hermione sighed and reached over, rubbing Pansy’s upper back softly.</p><p>“Yes Ronald?”  Hermione asked, clearly annoyed and Pansy couldn’t help but smile against the table because this was not going to go well for the Weasley.</p><p>“Well… hold on.  Do you <em> mind? </em>” He snarled and Pansy rolled her eyes and lifted her head up, going to stand up but Hermione yanked her back down into her chair by the back of her shirt.</p><p>“Yes, actually, as this is <em> my </em>table, Weasley.  I’m not eavesdropping, continue your conversation.”  Pansy snapped and crossed her arms, looking away from the two.</p><p>“Whatever.  I was wondering if you wanted to come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?”  Ron asked and Pansy <em> was </em>trying not to eavesdrop but she’d realized that it was rather difficult not to when she genuinely wanted to know the answer to the question.  She questioned for only a moment why she’d let herself get involved before she heard a sigh come from Hermione.</p><p>“No.”  Hermione said quietly and Pansy silently let out a sigh of relief.  Not because it was anything big, just because she suspected the other witch would become far more irritating if she got back together with Weasley.</p><p>“No?  Why?”  Ron asked, sounding shocked that his flimsy plan of a date got shot down.  Pansy chuckled to herself because honestly, if you’re trying to win someone back, try a little harder.  Make a plan, don’t just give the <em> place </em>.  It's not that difficult, Pansy thought, just act like you actually spent time on it.</p><p>“Because I’ve got plans.”  Hermione said and Pansy raised her eyebrow in surprise.  She hadn’t mentioned anything, but then again, its not like they’re all that close, Pansy reminded herself. When this project is over they’ll probably go back to a non-violent level of hostility with each other and the universe will all be back to normal.</p><p>“Plans?! With who?”  Ron cried, and Pansy stifled a laugh because who is <em>that </em>dramatic about something this small?</p><p>“Um… Pansy.”  Hermione said, and Pansy looked over in surprise.  She wasn’t sure <em> who </em> Hermione had set something up with but she was <em> fairly </em>certain it wasn’t her.</p><p>“Like I’m gonna believe you’re hanging out with just-.”  Pansy cut Ron off, at this point just wanting to shut him up.  It had taken her a moment, but she realized she was meant to get Hermione <em> out </em>of this as fast as possible.</p><p>“She never said it was <em> just </em>us, Weasel.  Your sister and that um… weird blonde girl from Ravenclaw she’s always hanging around with, her real name is escaping me…”  Pansy looked down at Hermione for help.</p><p>“Luna?”  Hermione tried and Pansy snapped her fingers and nodded.  That’s what it was, <em> Luna </em>.</p><p>“Yeah!  Her!  They’re invited too.  And I’m bringing my Slytherin friends, you probably know them from class, but I don’t have to give you their names.”  Pansy said, and Ron snorted, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>“Right, like my sister wants to spend time around a bunch of-.”  He was cut off by said sister appearing right next to him and resting her arm on his shoulder, causing him to jump.  How did he notice a <em> presence </em> next to him.</p><p>“What about me?”  Ginny asked and Hermione’s face lit up, because this excuse was falling together quite nicely.</p><p>“Oh! Ginny!  Awesome!  Pansy and I were just discussing Hogsmeade this weekend, you and Luna <em> are </em>coming along, right?”  She asked, and Ginny looked lost.</p><p>“What?”  She said, cokcing her head to the side, and if Pansy was closer she’d flick the girl’s arm because <em> this </em>should be obvious right now.  Granted, it had taken Pansy a moment too, but now there were plans in the works and it should be easy to jump right in.</p><p>“Ginny.”  Pansy snapped, and raised her eyebrow, and Ginny looked at the surrounding company, seeming to understand what was going on.  Of course the girl loved her brother, Pansy could tell and expected nothing else, but she also knew what a pain he was being with Hermione right now.</p><p>“Oh.  Oh!  <em> Yes </em> .  Hogsmede, of course Luna and I are coming along, I talked to her and she couldn’t be more excited.”  Ginny said, and Ron’s cocky expression dropped as he looked at Ginny with a look of… betrayal?  Seriously, Weasley?  Over <em> plans </em> with someone?</p><p>“See, Weasel?  We weren’t lying to you, we have far better things to do then that, honestly seems like a waste of air.”  Pansy said in a bored voice, and that earned her a flick to the head by Hermione.  Worth saying it.</p><p>“<em> Pansy </em>.” The other girl hissed and Pansy shrugged, and crossed her arms, still leveling her glare at Ron.</p><p>“The conversation, not him!  I wouldn’t say that… in <em> front </em>of you guys.”  Pansy muttered, and that earned her another look from Hermione.</p><p>“Whatever.  I’ve gotta go.”  Ron snapped, and stomped back over to his table with Harry, genuinely looking like an overgrown toddler at this point.  Its not the end of the world, Pansy thought, just let it go.</p><p>“Thank you guys, for getting me out of that one, he’s been trying all week-.” Ginny cut her off and sighed, crossing her arms.</p><p>“What time?”  She asked, and Hermione blinked, as if she was surprised Ginny had interrupted her.  Pansy thought that to be odd, from what she had seen Ginny had always been assertive in their conversations.</p><p>“What?”  Hermione asked, and Ginny raised an eyebrow, as if it was obvious.  It was, at least to Pansy but for once, Hermione seemed a little lost.</p><p>“What time for Hogsmede.  Obviously he’s still going to show up and if <em> we’re </em> not there, he’s gonna know we were lying.”  Ginny pointed out and Hermione shook her head in confusion, as though that hadn’t been something she thought of.  Pansy thought that must be impossible, she’s <em> Hermione Granger </em>.  In the past weeks of working with her on a project, rare is the day she doesn’t think something fully through.</p><p>“That’s-.”  Pansy cut her off with a hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“No, Ginny’s right about that.  If you want to get what you want -Weasel-boy to give you some space- we actually have to go.  So what time, ‘Mione?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione looked a little embarrassed that this was honestly how it was going.  What did she think was going to happen?</p><p>“Um… 11?”  Hermione asked quietly, and Ginny nodded, running a hand through her hair.  Pansy knew she was scheming, she’d seen that look on her older brother’s faces before, but she doubted this one would result in something detention-worthy.</p><p>“Sounds good, I’ll actually talk to Luna, I can do that now.”  She said, and turned on her heel, walking away as quickly as she had approached their table.</p><p>“And I’ll convince Daph and Tracey.  They’ll come along. I just have to coax them into being polite.”   Pansy insisted and Hermione sighed looked at her with what was either slight worry, or disappointment, but given the context Pansy was going to guess it was worry.</p><p>“I feel like Daphne hates me…” Hermione said, and Pansy shook her head.  From what had been said, Daphne actually had come to really like Hermione, and was even working up to using a first name, and Hermione had done the same.  That's progress if Pansy’s ever seen any.</p><p>“She doesn’t.  If she did, you’d know.  Trust me. I’ve seen her tear a first year to <em> shreds </em> just for tripping over her shoes.  She’s rather brutal.”  Pansy explained and Hermione was silent for a long moment before nodding, as though it made sense.  Of course it made sense, most of the girls in Slytherin had sharp tongues, it was a method of survival.  The boys could duel but Merlin <em> help </em> everyone if a girl did, because that would ruin her marital chances.</p><p>“Well… I guess that’s a relief.”  Hermione said and Pansy chuckled and nodded.  Being liked is definitely infinitely safer and more pleasant than being hated by pretty much <em> any </em>of her friends.  Speaking of friends… it was getting late.</p><p>“Isn’t it?  Now, I have to go or else I’ll endure hours of questioning from my girls.”  Pansy said, turning on her heel. Before she could start walking she felt Hermione catch her elbow and stop her from leaving.</p><p>“Hold on, I’ll walk you back.”  Hermione offered and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Walk her <em> back </em>?  All that's going to do is put her out of the way, there's really no reason for it at all that Pansy can reason out.</p><p>“Hermione it’s on the other side of the-.”  Hermione shook her head and flashed a quick smile Pansy’s way.</p><p>“I don’t mind.”  Hermione inisted and Pansy raised an eyebrow and chuckled.  She’d never gotten ‘walked’ to the dungeons by anyone, save for Ginny that <em> one </em>time but she was also sobbing and it's not like she was going to turn it down at that moment.  She certainly never expected that Hermione Granger would ever be the one walking her down there.  By all intensive purposes it made no sense.</p><p>“Okay… if you insist.”  Pansy mumbled, and the pair walked in silence for a few minutes before Hermione cleared her throat.  Pansy could tell she was trying to formulate a question but didn’t know how to say it without coming off badly.</p><p>“Why are you willing to help me?”  Hermione asked carefully, as though she was afraid any word she said would offend the Slytherin.  Pansy thought for a moment and shrugged.  The answer was pretty clear to her.</p><p>“You’d do the same for me.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked a little anxious, and that's when Pansy realized that it had been <em> her </em>who had saved Hermione multiple times at this point, without much of a reason why.  All the times Hermione had, there was a reason that was pretty clear to everyone, I.E. people not realizing when the hell to shut up.</p><p>“How do you know that?”  Hermione asked quietly, and honestly Pansy couldn’t explain why she felt like this wasn’t a one sided… thing.  She still wasn’t sure that they were completely <em> friends </em> , it normally took a lot more to get there with Pansy, and she was a <em> little </em>uncomfortable that the Gryffindor seemed to be getting through those walls quite quickly.</p><p>“Please, like a Gryffindor would give up the opportunity to be hailed as a ‘hero’.”  Pansy tried and Hermione was silent for a moment before smiling and nodding.</p><p>“Well… you know… the chivalry and determination and all that…”  She said quietly and Pansy rolled her eyes.</p><p>“All the reasons I’m normally <em> not </em> friends with Gryffindors.  I swear you guys are so righteous it's annoying.”  Pansy said, her eyes widening when she realized she’d just implied that they were friends.  She watched a smirk spread across Hermione’s face as she reached over and pushed her shoulder. </p><p>“Did you just say we’re friends?”  Hermione asked and Pansy sighed, running a hand through her hair.</p><p>“Don’t make it weird, Granger.  I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”  She asked, and Hermione nodded, and started walking away backwards.</p><p>“Yeah… see you in the morning.  Don’t stay up too late!”  Hermione called and Pansy rolled her eyes and turned around to get into the dungeon.</p><p>“Whatever!”  Pansy called behind her, and stood in the corridor to the common room for a moment, trying to get the smile off of her face.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A trip to Hogsmeade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t often that Pansy <em> went </em> to Hogsmeade with friends, sure she used to go with Draco and Crabbe and Goyle every now and again but generally she had better ways to spend her weekend, but a plan is a plan nonetheless.  The air was starting to turn a little colder, signaling autumn was quickly coming close to a close, and giving way to winter, but it wasn’t quite <em> cold enough </em> out yet, so Pansy grabbed a light jacket and threw it over her clothing before turning around to where Tracey and Daphne were sitting, looking extremely bored. <br/><br/>“Now, lets go over the rules once more so I know we understand each other.”  Pansy said, fixing her hair while she spoke.  The two girls opposite of her sighed and rolled their eyes, damn near in unison. <br/><br/>“Don’t call Luna Looney.”  Tracey said in a monotone voice, rolling her eyes.  Pansy had been guilty of that too, but she imagined Ginny wouldn’t take too kindly to people insulting her friend and she didn’t exactly feel like getting hexed. <br/><br/>“Don’t call Granger Mudblood.”  Daphne followed and Pansy nodded, this had actually been a rule she implemented herself.  It was time she took more responsibility for her friends using that word. <br/><br/>“Don’t call Ginny ‘Girl Weasley’.”  Tracey said.  That was another thing Pansy decided.  Ginny had been really helpful to her, and deserved respect for that. <br/><br/>“Be as kind as we can manage.”  Daphne said, and Pansy stifled a chuckle.  She had seen the look of disdain on both of their faces when she said they were spending the day with the group that was chosen, and she felt she should specify.  She knew complete kindness was not going to happen but she wanted them to at least <em> try </em> . <br/><br/>“Don’t hex Ron even if he’s a total and complete wanker.”  Tracey mumbled and Pansy sighed.  She didn’t particularly like that rule. <br/><br/>“That last one is up for debate, but Hermione insisted I include it.  Now come on, we’re going to be late.”  She said, and turned around, walking out of the dorm briskly as Daphne and Tracey struggled to keep up with her. <br/><br/>“You’re rather excited.”  Tracey mused and Pansy rolled her eyes as they booked it down the corridors, making it outside. <br/><br/>“Not excited, I just don’t want to be <em> late </em> because I did promise Hermione we’d be on time.”  Pansy mumbled and Daphne sighed. <br/><br/>“We aren’t going to be late, look… we’re almost at the meeting point.”  Daphne said, pointing ahead to where Hermione was standing alone… where the hell was Ginny? If none of her friends backed out, no way was Ginny allowed to or she’d never hear the end of it from Tracey and Daphne. <br/><br/>“Good, you made it!”  Hermione said brightly, rubbing her hands together.  She must be freezing, Pansy just knew it. <br/><br/>“I said we’d be here, ‘Mione.  No need to stress that we wouldn’t be.”  Pansy said, and Hermione shivered for a moment before leaning in to Pansy.  She looked down in a bit of surprise, but didn’t pull away as that would be rude.  It <em> was </em> colder than she had originally planned for, so she could understand the shivering. <br/><br/>“Hey Granger.  Morning suiting you well?”  Daphne asked, and Hermione stiffened for a moment before forcing a smile.  Pansy knew she was still apprehensive around her other friends, and Pansy didn’t blame her for that. <br/><br/>“Well enough, thank you.”  Hermione answered quickly, and that satiated any need or want for conversation between the two girls.  Pansy cleared her throat and looked down at Hermione.  She’d probably warm up if they were actually moving around. <br/><br/>“Who are we waiting on?”  Pansy asked quietly, reaching around Hermione to put a cautious arm around her shoulder.  Hermione took that as a signal to move impossibly <em> closer </em> to Pansy as she shivered more. <br/><br/>“Ginny and Luna.  I knew this might happen, Ginny is always dead to the world in the morning.”  Hermione said, and as if that <em> summoned </em> her Ginny arrived, pulling Luna behind her and stopped right before them, taking a deep breath. <br/><br/>“Sorry!  Sorry! Woke up late!”  Ginny said in a hurried voice, and Pansy’s eyes fell on where the two girls' hands were locked together and made a mental note to ask Ginny about that later.  She’d come to realize that if she were to ever meet someone, she should try and see if there was anyone else like her at this school besides Ginny and Luna <em> did </em> seem a little… flamboyant. <br/><br/>“Hello Hermione.  You look rather pretty today.”  Luna said with a grin, and Hermione smiled and nodded at Luna.  Pansy suspected that this was just how the Ravenclaw talked, from what she heard Luna sounded like a cryptid half the time. <br/><br/>“Oh… thank you, Luna, that's very sweet.”  Hermione said, and the girl glanced around, as if looking for something, and Pansy did notice that Ginny seemed to be enchanted by this.  Interesting. <br/><br/>“I swear if she says anything about Nargles-.”  Tracey muttered and Pansy shot her a look and leaned down to her ear, speaking through clenched teeth. <br/><br/>“You’ll listen and be polite because I <em> said </em> so.”  Pansy muttered and Tracey snorted and gave her a look of defiance, but Pansy hoped to Merlin that she wouldn’t test it.  She really didn’t need to fight with her right now. <br/><br/>“Who made you the one in charge?”  Tracey asked in an amused voice and Pansy rolled her eyes. <br/><br/>“I did.  Now shut up.”  She said, and Tracey sighed, but conceded.  Thank Merlin. <br/><br/>“Fine.”  Tracey mumbled and Hermione elbowed Pansy’s ribcage a little hard, causing her to let out a small squeak of surprise. <br/><br/>“Where to first?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged.  She hadn’t known she’d have to be giving an opinion. <br/><br/>“I honestly don’t know, I don’t go to Hogsmeade much.”  Pansy said, and Ginny cleared her throat <br/><br/>“Well… there's the Three Broomsticks…”  Ginny said, and Pansy nodded, looking down at Hermione, who shrugged. <br/><br/>“Sure, I could go for a drink.”  Hermione said, and they were off.  The group was quiet for what felt like an eternity until Tracey opened her mouth, causing Pansy to stiffen because this could either be a good thing, or a very bad thing. <br/><br/>“So Ginny.  What's it <em> like </em> playing for the Gryffindor team?  Like do they even acknowledge you guys or <em> just </em> scarhead?”  Tracey asked and Pansy wanted to run directly into a brick wall because thats exactly what you <em> don’t </em> ask an opinionated Gryffindor quidditch player.  This was going to end badly. <br/><br/>“First, his name is Harry. Secondly, they do acknowledge us, he’s the captain of course he gets talked about more-.”  Ginny was cut off by Tracey sighing. <br/><br/>“But from what I’ve seen, you’re just as good.”  She pointed out and Pansy could practically <em> feel </em> the redhead start to blush. <br/><br/>“Well I wouldn’t say-.”  She started but she was interrupted quickly by Luna. <br/><br/>“Oh yes!  Ginny is <em> simply </em> amazing, very elegant when she flies in quidditch games.  It’s like watching a swan.”  Luna said and Pansy chuckled quietly <br/><br/>“Luna…”  Ginny said, clearly not wanting a deal made of this right now, but the blonde just didn’t seem to notice. </p><p>“What?  I only said what's true, Gin.  At least I believe it to be true.”  Luna said, and Pansy smiled to herself. <br/><br/>“I know but-.”  Ginny was cut off by Tracey, who from the sound of it, smacked her arm. </p><p>“Accept her compliment, Weasley.  This could go on all day.”  Tracey said in a blase voice and Ginny sighed.  This whole conversation was quite amusing when you couldn’t see it in Pansy’s opinion.  It was like making your own theatre with really bad actors.<br/><br/>“Fine!  Thank you, Luna, that was really nice of you to say.”  Ginny muttered <br/><br/>“Oh, you’re very welcome.”  Luna said, rather brightly.  Pansy leaned down to Hermione’s ear with a smirk on her face. <br/><br/>“Tracey and Ginny seem to be getting on well.”  She mumbled and Hermione looked at her in alarm. <br/><br/>“ <em> That's </em> getting on well?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged, leaning back up to her full height, trying to find the right words to phrase ‘normally they would be trying to murder each other and then everyone else in sight’</p><p>“Listen, ‘Mione.  Be glad they’re talking at all and not killing each other.  Small victories.”  Pansy muttered and Hermione sighed and nodded.  Pansy knew she was right, she understood what the normal interactions between Slytherin and Gryffindor were supposed to be.  They were often bad enough to incite duals in the halls, but that was mostly Draco and Potter going at it.</p><p>“Right, right I know but-.”  Hermione started but Pansy patted her arm and cut her off.  She was not going to hear a reason why she was wrong right now.</p><p>“No.  No buts.  Just be <em>glad</em>.”  Pansy insisted and it took her a moment but Hermione sighed and looked at her with some disdain.</p><p>“Fine.  I’m <em>glad </em>they’re getting on.”  Hermione muttered and Pansy grinned and elbowed her ribs, causing her to yelp quietly.</p><p>“Very good!”  Pansy said and Daphne reached forward and smacked the back of her head.</p><p>“Oi!  We’re here, don’t walk right by it.”  Daphne snapped and Pansy grimaced and rubbed the back of her head, shooting a glare back at her.</p><p>“Wasn’t the intention, Daph.”  Pansy snapped back and Daphne shrugged and opened the door to let everyone in.</p><p>“Then pay better attention where you’re going, Parkinson.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy shoved her shoulder.  Did she always have to be so <em>damn </em>cocky?</p><p>“Whatever.”  Pansy muttered and they made their way to one of the only empty tables in the entire pub, and Hermione clapped her hands together and smiled tightly.</p><p>“I’ll go get us drinks.”  Hermione offered, and Pansy glanced around.  This place was pretty full, Ron could be here.  She shouldn’t go alone, in case he thinks they all lied to him.</p><p>“I’ll go with you-.”  Pansy said, standing up, but she felt someone grab her arm and pull her away.</p><p>“No, Daphne can go with her, I need to talk to you privately for a moment.” Ginny said and Pansy sighed, nodding. She had no idea what this was about, but it seemed important.</p><p>“Okay, one sec. Mione?”  Pansy called and Hermione turned around and raised an eyebrow, Daphne stopping too and shooting Pansy a look.</p><p>“What?”  She asked and Pansy shot her the biggest smile she could manage and tried to look… sweet.  She had some convincing to do if this was going to work out for her.</p><p>“Could you get me a firewhiskey?”  Pansy asked and she watched the conflicted look come across Hermione’s face.  It was hilarious.</p><p>“You’re not 17-.”  Hermione tried and Pansy gave her look and clasped her hands together in a similar way to how she'd seen muggles pray before.</p><p>“<em>Please</em>.”  She said and Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes as Daphne grabbed her elbow and tugged her towards the bar.</p><p>“... Fine.  Fine I’ll do it.”  Hermione said and Pansy shot her another smile as Ginny started walking towards the door.<br/><br/>“You’re a lifesaver, I owe you one.”  Pansy called out and Ginny sighed behind her and tugged her arm a little harder.</p><p>“Okay, whatever, come on.”  Ginny said, and all but yanked her out the door by the sleeve of her jacket.</p><p>“Merlin, this coat was 100 galleons, don’t stretch it out! What is it?”  Pansy asked, straightening out the sleeve of her jacket.</p><p>“If I ask you something you need to answer me honestly.”  Ginny said and Pansy felt a little nervous because she normally didn’t talk this seriously.  Pansy shifted back and forth and nodded.</p><p>“Okay…”  Pansy said and  Ginny sighed and ran a hand through her hair.</p><p>“Do you fancy Hermione?”  Ginny asked quietly and Pansy’s eyes widened.  Merlin, is that what people <em>thought</em>?  She was just being a good friend, plus she was fairly certain Hermione only liked men, it would be a bit of a mess to fancy her.</p><p>“What?  No!  No, of course not.  We’re friends.”  Pansy said quickly and Ginny raised an eyebrow, as though she wasn’t completely convinced, which Pansy found to be irritating as all hell.</p><p>“Okay, then why go through all of this?”  Ginny asked and Pansy blinked, really just wanting her to believe her.</p><p>“As I mentioned, we’re <em>friends</em> and I wasn’t going to let your brother push her around.”  Pansy pointed out and Ginny rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Right, and so why couldn’t it just be the two of you.”  Ginny asked and Pansy opened her mouth to respond but she couldn’t think of a reason why.  Oh wait, because Ron literally doubted that Pansy and Hermione were hanging out alone, she was just trying to make sure this went smoothly.</p><p>“Because Ron would never believe that, he would think for sure that we were lying.  He literally said that.”  Pansy pointed out and Ginny narrowed her eyes with a smirk, taking a few steps closer to Ginny.</p><p>“Or maybe… you’re just nervous to be alone with her.”  Ginny said, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  That made <em>no </em>sense at all.</p><p>“Hey genius?  I’m alone with her all the time, we’re literally partners on a project and we study together all the time.”  Pansy reminded her and Ginny shook her head and chewed on her lip.</p><p>“Right, right.  But that's the library, that's not truly alone.”  Ginny pointed out.  Pansy rolled her eyes because while she had a point, that didn’t mean anything.</p><p>“Whatever.  So if you’re dissecting <em>my </em>love life, I get one question.” Pansy said with a smirk and Ginny sighed, luckily she knew fair was fair and that was something Pansy appreciated about her.</p><p>“Go ahead, I’ll answer anything.”  Ginny said and Pansy thought about how to phrase this.  She knew Ginny liked Luna, but how does she get <em>her </em>to say that.</p><p>“How long until you tell Luna you fancy her?”  Pansy asked and Ginny paled and glanced around, like she was scared someone was going to hear.</p><p>“What… I-I don’t!”  Ginny said quickly and Pansy smirked and leaned against the outer wall of the pub.  Did Ginny Weasely honestly think she was anything short of rubbish at lying?</p><p>“<em>Please</em> the last time I saw someone look that infatuated with something I accidentally witnessed the horrifying sight of your brother shoving what looked like half a chicken in his mouth.”  Pansy chuckled and Ginny paused, looking rather confused at what just came out of Pansy’s mouth. </p><p>“... I- you know that's a really weird comparison, right?”  Ginny asked and Pansy sighed in annoyance and shrugged.  Ginny obviously <em>knew </em>what she meant, why make this so damn difficult?</p><p>“Whatever!  That's not the point.  The point is you look at her like she’s the only thing that matters in the world.” Pansy said and Ginny swallowed heavily and crossed her arms, obviously a little uncomfortable.  For a split second, Pansy considered taking back her question, but she genuinely wanted to hear her answer.</p><p>“Okay!  Maybe I do like her but it doesn’t matter.”  She mumbled and Pansy cocked her head.  Well thats about the fastest way Pansy has seen a Gryffindor give up.</p><p>“Why not?”  Pansy asked and Ginny shrugged and sighed, rubbing her arm nervously.</p><p>“Because she doesn’t like me back and-.”  Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  Ginny must be blind, that is the only possible reason for how oblivious she is.</p><p>“Pause, she totally does. It's really clear to everyone but the two of you, apparently.”  Pansy muttered, and Ginny’s eyebrows shot up.</p><p>“How would you know?”  Ginny asked quietly and Pansy shrugged.  It was just a feeling she got, they seemed happy when they were around each other.</p><p>“She just… acts different around you, less floaty, more grounded, you know?”  Pansy said, and Ginny still looked a little apprehensive.</p><p>“You noticed that… just from observing from afar.”  Ginny said, as if she was surprised that Pansy could pay attention to something that miniscule.  She’d be offended if she really cared about what someone thought about her intelligence level right now.</p><p>“I’m not stupid, Ginny.  I can do a lot from afar.”  Pansy responded and Ginny sighed and leaned fully against the building.</p><p>“Okay, okay.  I’ll… maybe I’ll talk to her about it.”  Ginny said and Pansy grinned and clapped her shoulder.</p><p>“Good.  Now come on, they’re gonna think we ditched.”  She said and Ginny nodded.  They walked back in and immediately the entire group was silent for a moment.  Merlin, they <em>actually </em>thought that Pansy was going to ditch, those fucking wankers.</p><p>“There you two are!”  Tracey said and Pansy cleared her throat and glanced around, suddenly feeling like she was on trial.  She felt like she had to give a reason.</p><p>“Sorry, we were just talking-.”  Pansy started and Ginny cleared her throat and quickly interrupted her.</p><p>“Pansy had a question about quidditch that she asked last week, and I finally had an answer.”  Ginny said and Pansy gave her a look as she shrugged slightly.  <em>Ridiculous</em>. Absolutely insane idea.</p><p>“Uh… yeah, sure that's what it was.”  Pansy muttered and Ginny glared at her.  She had no intentions of saying what actually happened but what Ginny said was ridiculous because of the fact that Pansy cared <em>not at all </em>about quidditch.</p><p>“Firewhiskey.”  Hermione said, holding out the cup.  Pansy grinned and sat down next to Her, settling in before turning to her.</p><p>“<em>Merlin </em>thank you.”  Pansy said, taking the cup from Hermione and downing it rather quickly, letting out a quiet groan as the burn started in her throat, she closed her eyes and a small smile came over her face.  She’d needed that.  When she opened her eyes back up, she looked over at Hermione whose mouth was a little bit open and her cheeks looked a little flushed.  Is it hot in here to her?  Pansy wondered what it was like to not be cold all the damn time.  After a moment Hermione shook her head and cleared her throat.</p><p>“Um… okay, so anyways.  What else should we do?”  Hermione asked, her voice sounding a little bit rough as it came out.  Had the cold really gotten to her that much outside, because it sounded like she was coming down with something, and Pansy was genuinely worried.</p><p>“Hermione, we just sat down, give it a minute.”  Pansy whispered and she sighed and nodded, fiddling with her fingers.</p><p>“I know I’m just-.”  Pansy cut her off with a sigh and slid her arms across Hermione’s shoulders.</p><p>“I know, but calm down. We’re here for a reason.”  Pansy reminded her, and Hermione smiled tightly and nodded.</p><p>“‘Mione?”  Pansy stiffened at the sound of Ron’s voice and she forced a tight smile onto her face.</p><p>“And the show is about to begin.”  Pansy muttered, giving Hermione good reason behind why she smacked Pansy’s arm nearly hard enough to bruise.  Ron glanced around the table, and Pansy noticed that the more upset he got, the redder the tips of his ears started to get, it was hilarious to watch.</p><p>“You <em>really </em>came here with all of them?!  Instead of spending one day with me alone?”</p><p>“Ron, we aren’t together anymore.”  Hermione reminded him and Ron sighed and ran his hand through his hair.  Pansy sneered and shook her head, tapping her fingers in an attempt to not look like she was about to punch Ron in the face</p><p>“Yeah but we could be-.”  Ron tried and Daphne slammed a hand on the table, causing both Ginny and Hermione to jump.  Pansy was desensitized to the way her friend reacted to shit that annoyed her.</p><p>“Hey Weasley!  Read the room, she’s not <em>interested </em>in you.  And, full offense intended, she can do <em>a lot</em> better than you.  She’s smart, not terrible looking, and from what I’ve heard she’s actually really funny.” Daphne snapped and Pansy heard Hermione stifle a small chuckle and honestly she was a little proud of the Gryffindor witch, laughing even though Daphne was a little rude.</p><p>“No one asked you, Greengrass!”  Ron hissed and Pansy sighed and examined her fingernails, suddenly very aware that her arm was still around Hermione’s shoulders.</p><p>“She’s right, Ron.  Hermione can do better.”  Pansy said, the firewhiskey having loosened up that little bit of her she tried to keep inside.  She was done playing nice with Ronald Billius Weasley.</p><p>“How would you know?” Ron asked, his voice full of venom.  Pansy narrowed his eyes, ready to finally tear him apart even though Hermione had asked her to be kind.</p><p>“Well-.”  She started but Ron held up his hand to silence her and scowled at her.</p><p>“No seriously, what would <em>you </em>know?  The one boyfriend you’ve ever had outed you to everyone and that blew up in your face, so who are you to say that someone needs to ‘do better’?  You can’t even keep one relationship intact!  Pathetic!”  He spat and Pansy couldn’t stop the laugh that fell from her lips because he had given her <em>perfect </em>ammunition.</p><p>“Wow.  Might I remind you that you got <em>dumped, </em>Weasel?  Don’t act all high and mighty and like you’re better than me!”  Pansy snickered and Ron crossed his arms and nodded, like he <em>truly </em>believed that.</p><p>“Well in a lot of ways I am.”  He said and Pansy covered her smile behind her hand and leaned back in her seat.</p><p>“Oh this should be good, do tell.” She said and Ron shrugged.</p><p>“Well, for one, I’ve got friends-.”  he started, and immediately got cut off.</p><p>“She has friends, we’re <em>literally </em>right here.”  Tracey said, her voice dangerously low as she gripped onto her mug.  Daphne peeled her hands off so that the glass wouldn’t break underneath her grip.</p><p>“-People actually like me, oh and I’m not <em>evil</em>.  Seriously, Hermione, how can you hang out with her?  She dated Draco <em>bloody </em>Malfoy!  And she’s <em>gay</em>.  She’s probably just hanging around you to see if she can change you to her side.”  Ron sneered and Pansy felt like her heart fell down  into her stomach.</p><p>“One, never dated, for a pureblood you seem to know very little of the customs I’m forced to follow, Ronald. Two, sod off!”  Pansy said, her voice thick with emotion as she stood up and started to storm out of the pub.  She felt someone gently grab the sleeve of her jacket and hold her back.</p><p>“Pansy wait-.”  Hermione started but suddenly her hand was gone, and Daphne was standing between the two of them.</p><p>“I’ll go get her, you deal with your ex, Granger because he’s out of control.”  Daphne said, her voice low and angry.  Hermione grimaced and nodded.</p><p>“...Right.”  Hermione said, and Pansy saw her turn to Ron, and that was the last thing she got before she started running back to the castle.</p><p>“Pansy!  Pansy wait up!”  Daphne called after her and Pansy tried to wipe the tears off of her cheeks before she answered. She hadn’t even realized she was crying.</p><p>“No, I’m going back to the castle, I never should’ve come in the first place.”  Pansy spat and Daphne stopped running and stood firmly.</p><p>“Don’t run away right now!”  Daphne shouted after her and Pansy stopped, clenching her jaw and whipping around to face her.</p><p>“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE!”  Pansy yelled and Daphne almost looked relieved that she was exploding, and she took a step closer.</p><p>“You’re right.  I don’t.  So for once, why don’t you explain to me instead of expecting me to read your fucking mind, Parkinson.”  Daphne snapped back and Pansy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.  How does she even <em>begin </em>to try and explain this?</p><p>“I… walk into the common room, where I used to feel safe, and seen and happy, and I’m just hit with these whispers of people thinking I’m creepy, so I don’t go in there anymore.  I don’t sit with anyone at meals anymore because I don’t want to deal with it, hell I don’t even sit near you anymore!  And the fact that people <em>still </em>think I’m being weird about this… it's enough to drive me mad.”  Pansy said, the end of her sentence coming out as a whisper.  Daphne was quick to close the distance between them and hugged her close for a moment before speaking again.</p><p>“I’m sorry.  I-I didn’t know it was still that bad.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed in frustration, shaking her head.  How did she not <em>know</em>?</p><p>“Of course it is!  I never said it had gotten better.”  Pansy said, feeling herself getting more and more stressed with every moment.  Daphne threw her hands up in frustration and started pacing back and forth.  Pansy knew better then to keep this from her, and it honestly had been a bit difficult.</p><p>“You never said anything!  Pansy…”  Daphne said, and Pansy nodded.  She knew she’d been closed off, but under the circumstances it should make sense, she was terrified and trying to hold onto what little reputation she had left.</p><p>“I know.  I know.”  She said, and she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.  She was hoping that would be the end of it, and luckily this time it was.  Pansy turned around to keep walking to the castle, but she was stopped by a light chuckle.</p><p>“You aren’t running off now, are you?”  She heard Hermione ask, and Pansy turned around and smirked, crossing her arms.</p><p>“‘Mione… where's-.” Hermione cut her off with a huff and shrugged.</p><p>“Ginny has been berating her brother for the past couple of minutes, so much so that I couldn’t get a word in edgewise so… I came to find you.” She said quietly, and Pansy sniffled and wiped her eyes one more time, trying to erase any proof of her crying.</p><p>“I can’t believe you even dated that <em>wanker</em>.”  Pansy snapped and Hermione nodded and sighed.  Pansy didn’t know what was so funny, she was being honest.</p><p>“He’s not always bad…”  Hermione said and Pansy clenched her jaw, thinking for sure this was when Hermione exposed that she didn’t care about Pansy and was still dating Ron.  She hated that she’d let her get this close.</p><p>“Whatever.”  Pansy spat, and went to keep walking towards the castle, but Hermione caught her by the arm and pulled her back.</p><p>“No!  That's not to say that he’s not wrong for what he’s doing right now, he completely is, I just can’t erase that he’s been there for me in the past.”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed.  She got why Hermione wanted to protect him, she used to be the same way with Draco.  It’s a hard habit to break.</p><p>“No, I know that.”  Pansy said, and a heavy silence settled over the girls until Daphne cleared her throat.</p><p>“Wow, this is… awkward to be around right now… you two hash this shit out and meet us at Honeydukes.”  Daphne said, starting to walk away backwards.  Hermione nodded and ran a hand through her hair as she responded.</p><p>“Yeah, okay.  We’ll catch up.”  Hermione said, and Daphne nodded quickly and walked away.  Pansy cleared her throat after a moment and Hermione looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>“So what else did he say?”  Pansy asked quietly and Hermione chuckled and shook her head, as though that question was crazy.  Pansy knew for a fact that it wasn’t but that didn’t make her response any less annoying.</p><p>“He hasn’t gotten the chance to get another word in because of Ginny.”  Hermione explained, and right on cue the pub door burst open into a scene of commotion.</p><p>“-AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING!  JUST <em>WAIT </em>UNTIL I TELL MOM HOW YOU’VE BEEN ACTING!”  Ginny shouted, and Pansy looked over and noticed that she was being dragged out of the pub, <em>literally </em>kicking and screaming, by Luna.</p><p>“Ginny, Ginny!  Hey.  It's okay, just calm down.”  Luna said, and Ginny sighed, still huffing and struggled out of the girls arms, looking at her.  Pansy smirked and chuckled to herself because <em>how </em>did Ginny not see that?!</p><p>“No!  Luna he-.”  Luna cut her off and reached up, stroking one of her cheeks softly with a small smile.  Pansy was shocked by how calming Luna seemed.</p><p>“It's all okay now, though.  Come on, let me take you down to Honeydukes.”  Luna said softly and Ginny let out a long, deep breath and nodded as Luna let her hand drop.</p><p>“Um… yeah, okay.”  Ginny said and Luna smiled and held out her hand.</p><p>“Hand?”  She asked and Ginny took it</p><p>“Right.” Ginny muttered and let Luna pull her away.  If they aren’t <em>going </em>to be a couple then Pansy must be insane.</p><p>“Wow.  They’re closer than I realized.”  Hermione said and Pansy stifled a chuckle.  Oh ‘Mione.  You have <em>no </em>idea.</p><p>“What do you know about people Ginny likes.”  Pansy asked, clearly amused and Hermione looked at her with confusion painted all over her face.  For someone so smart she’s <em>so </em>oblivious to the most obvious things.</p><p>“She likes Harry, it's obvious.”  Hermione said and Pansy snorted.  She’d seen those two interact, it was like watching two siblings talk to one another.</p><p>“Right…” She chuckled and started walking away, but Hermione was quick to catch up with her.</p><p>“No, what is it?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy was honestly a little bit touched because it seemed like Hermione didn’t know.  That meant Ginny <em>did </em>trust her.</p><p>“Can’t tell you till she does, sorry.”  Pansy said, a little smug that she knew something about one of Hermione’s closest friends that <em>she </em>didn’t even know.  She felt powerful, unstoppable.  Hermione huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from Pansy.  It clearly irritated the girl that she wasn’t made aware of anything.</p><p>“You’re <em>impossible</em>.”  Hermione snapped and Pansy smiled and linked their arms together as they started walking towards Honeydukes.</p><p>“Well so are you, quite a pair we make.”  She said and this did cause Hermione to smile back at her, which was its intended purpose.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. An emotional disconnect</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione had no reason to be looking at Pansy like she’d just ruined something for her.  She had gotten there on time, even if it <em> was </em> only one minute before class started and that needs to count for something.  But of course it doesn’t and Hermione flicks her ear.  Wanker.</p><p>“You were almost late!  You’re so lucky I saved you a seat this time because-.”  Pansy cut Hermione off with a groan and gave her a look.  She hadn’t <em> meant </em> to get caught up before potions, she just lost track of time and she didn’t need a whole lecture that would put any teacher to shame right now.</p><p>“Can it, ‘Mione.  I made it on time, that's what matters right?”  Pansy asked and Hermione sighed and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.  Pansy knew that her blase attitude towards being early (or as Hermione had called it, ‘actually on time’) made Hermione practically break out in hives, which she did find hilarious.</p><p>“I guess so.  But you should work on your punctuality.  Showing up early is a mark of people who care about what they’re doing-.”  Pansy chuckled and cut her off, leaning closer to her and flicking up an eyebrow.</p><p>“And if I <em> don’t </em> care about what I’m doing?”  Pansy asked and Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed, pushing Pansy back into her spot.</p><p>“... Then I suppose being late would make sense but I’m not letting you do that!”  Hermione said and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.  She got the sense that Hermione was not going to be letting this go today.</p><p>“Fine.  Fine.  I’ll work on it, okay?”  Pansy said and Hermione smiled and folded her hands together.  Prick.</p><p>“See?  That's all I wanted to hear.”  She said, before they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat and Pansy looked up to see Draco and fought the urge to roll her eyes.</p><p>“Pansy, we need to talk.  Get out of that chair, Mudblood.”  Draco sneered and Pansy sighed and slammed her hands on the table, raising up to meet Draco’s glare.  He was only a couple of inches taller than her anyways, it wasn’t that hard.</p><p>“Okay <em> one </em> don’t call her that, two, she’s not going anywhere, Malfoy.  And three, whatever you need to say to me you can say in front of her, she’s the one who’s been standing up for me-.”  Pansy was cut off by someone clearing their throat and throwing a ball of parchment at her head, which she ducked and dodged.</p><p>“Oi!”  Daphne yelled and Pansy rolled her eyes and flipped her off, not even looking over.  She didn’t have time for Daphne’s <em> ego </em> right now.</p><p>“I didn’t say the <em> only </em> one, Greengrass.  Merlin.”  She snapped, and Draco snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention and she suppressed the urge to break them one by one so he never did it again.</p><p>“Fine.  Whatever.  I think we need to resume our previous relationship before our parents start getting suspicious, it could be detrimental for both of us if we don’t, and you know that.  So… please?”  Draco asked, and Pansy almost laughed at how desperate he looked.  She was going to relish in turning him down.</p><p>“No.”  She said, and Draco's face fell.</p><p>“Look, I get that you hate me right now, but I can keep you safe.  Imagine what would happen if your poor father found out that his daughter is a dy-.”  Draco was cut off by Hermione standing up quickly and pressing her wand under his chin.  He swallowed heavily and held his hands up in a sort of surrender.</p><p>“Finish that word, Malfoy.  I dare you.  I will light you on <em> fire </em> , I don’t even care.”  Hermione growled and Draco was practically pissing himself at this point, Merlin Pansy found this far funnier then she should.</p><p>“You’re just going to let her do this?!  What happened to house solidarity?”  Draco hissed, and Pansy could see the fear in his eyes.  She didn’t exactly blame him, Hermione looked pissed and did have her wand pressed hard against his throat, but that didn’t change what she was thinking right now.</p><p>“Went out the window when you <em> outed </em> me because you felt you weren’t in control anymore.  Continue, Hermione.”  Pansy said, giving Hermione a small smirk.  Hermione looked back on Draco with determination and cleared her throat.</p><p>“If you threaten her again, and don’t try and talk yourself out of it, I <em> know </em> what a veiled threat is, I’m a muggle who’s had to deal with <em> you </em> for years, I will personally hex you until you cannot move.”  She said, and Pansy was a little impressed with how serious the other girl sounded, most of the time she thought Hermione wouldn’t go for vengeance.  Draco curled his lip in disgust and looked away.</p><p>“Oh like I’m afraid of <em> you </em> .”  Draco sneered and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She knew for a fact that Draco <em> was </em> scared of Hermione to a certain degree, as he should be because she was far more powerful than him in a lot of ways.</p><p>“I would be, Malfoy.  Remember whose first in the class and who is <em> always </em> in second.  She could duel you and win without a second thought.”  Pansy pointed out and Draco’s mouth dropped open in shock.</p><p>“And you’d <em> let </em> her?!”  Draco asked, as though this was surprising.  Of <em> course </em> Pansy would let her, Draco deserved it.</p><p>“You’ve lost my trust and my support, Malfoy.  That shouldn’t be a surprise.  Maybe if you actually work to get it back, I’d support you again some day, but today is not that day.  Now go sit down, you’re making a fool of yourself, and it's embarrassing to watch.”  Pansy snapped and Draco opened his mouth to respond but must have decided against it, sinking down next to Blaise.  He was honest to Circe <em> moping, </em> are you kidding, thought Pansy and she chuckled as Professor Slughorn started talking.</p><p>“-Today we’ll be making amortita, which I think you all know is a powerful love potion.  It gives off the aroma of what you desire most, and if ingested it will make you obsessed with the person who gave it to you.  Very dangerous, but could be useful.”</p><p>“I’ll go grab the ingredients, you find it in the textbook.”  Hermione said and Pansy sighed and pulled out her book</p><p>“Okay…”  Pansy said, and once she found the page and they’d settled back down, she pretty much let Hermione take the lead because she didn’t exactly want to feel responsible for messing this up.  Pansy watched Hermione work with a marked interest, not completely understanding how she had done that so quickly.</p><p>“This is odd…. Like its kind of confusing how you got that done in such little time...”  Pansy murmured and Hermione chuckled and shook her head.</p><p>“It's not, you’d understand every little instruction if you just paid your full attention to it.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy wrinkled her nose and shook her head.</p><p>“That sounds intentionally difficult and I’d rather not.”  Pansy said and Hermione sighed and shot her a look.</p><p>“Whatever, Pans.  Suit yourself.”  She murmured and after a moment she got a satisfied smile on her face and Pansy perked up because <em> honestly </em> watching Hermione work was interesting to a point, but eventually a person gets bored.</p><p>“Alright, I think this is right but I <em> really </em> don’t want to be the first one to smell it.  Could you..?”   Hermione asked, and leaned away from the cauldron.  Pansy suppressed a laugh because <em> really </em> was she going to come back as wanting or desiring anyone?  Probably not, and no one was going to smell her in theirs.</p><p>“Yeah, can’t guarantee I’ll smell anything, but I’ll give it a shot.”  Pansy mumbled, and leaned over the cauldron, taking a sniff.  She felt the dread set in as she detected each scent: Cinnamon… floral… old books… tea… ink… something sweet.  She knew that scent pretty well at this point, she’d been around it every day for a month and a half.  Of course it smelled like Hermione, oh she was <em> royally </em> fucked.   Hermione tapped her shoulder and raised an eyebrow as Pansy shot away, trying to get as much distance as she could from the girl.</p><p>“Well?”  Hermione asked, a small laugh coming out of her mouth.  Pansy swallowed heavily and tried to think of an excuse for her erratic behavior because ‘sorry mate, I just got a little spooked because it smells <em> exactly </em> like you and that's a whole pot of issues that I cannot handle’ just didn’t seem to do the trick.</p><p>“Um… I-I think we must’ve made it wrong, maybe you should try but I couldn’t quite… detect anything, you know?”  Pansy said, noticing that her voice was going far too high for her normal tone, and Hermione’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, so she must have realized it too.</p><p>“Oh, okay…”  She mumbled, and leaned forward to smell it.  Pansy noticed her go a little pale as she leaned back quickly and cleared her throat, training her eyes forward and on anything but Pansy.</p><p>“Hermione?”  Pansy asked quietly, and Hermione seemed to snap back to reality and shook her head, running a hand through her hair</p><p>“Yeah, yeah this is wrong… I think.  Hold on.  Professor!”  Hermione called out, and Professor Slughorn made his way back to their table.</p><p>“Yes, Ms. Granger?”  He asked and Hermione sighed.  Pansy could see she was still mid panic, and honestly Pansy couldn’t fault her, she was there too.</p><p>“Is this made wrong?”  Hermione asked, pushing the cauldron towards him.  He sniffed it and raised an eyebrow, shaking his head.  Shit, Pansy thought, this cannot be happening right now, it is not the time.</p><p>“No, it's done perfectly, well done.  Do either of you young ladies want to share what you smell?”  The professor asked and Pansy widened her eyes and shook her head frantically.  Merlin, she could <em> never </em> let this get out, it would mean a lot of detriment to a lot of parts of her life.</p><p>“No!”  Pansy all but shouted, afraid she sounded too desperate but she realized Hermione was shaking her head just as fast.</p><p>“I’d really rather not!”  She said quickly and Pansy sighed in relief that she wasn’t the only one afraid of what the amortita revealed.</p><p>“Well alright, I suppose everyone likes to have their privacy, I won’t push.”  Professor Slughorn said, and walked away.  Hermione cleared her throat and looked at Pansy, clearly with something important in mind, and Pansy turned to give her full attention.</p><p>“So um… we have to write about the properties now, I suppose.  A-are you busy tonight, we could work on it together in the library and-.”  Pansy held up a hand to stop the onslaught of words.</p><p>“Hermione.  Pause.  Stop talking so fast.  Yes I’m busy tonight, we’re literally supposed to be doing our prefect rounds <em> together </em> remember?  You switched with Draco?”  Pansy asked with a small chuckle and Hermione blinked and seemed to relax, as if that answered something.  Pansy couldn’t help but wonder what, but she felt she shouldn’t pry.</p><p>“... Yes, I suppose you’re right, I completely forgot.”  Hermione said, leaning down to write something down on her parchment, her hand still looking a little shaky.  Pansy sighed and leaned closer to her.</p><p>“Are you okay because you look a little-.”  Hermione cut her off with a light squeeze of the shoulder and a tight smile.</p><p>“I’m <em> fine </em> Pansy, don’t worry about it.”  She insisted and Pansy raised her eyebrow, but said nothing.  She knew it wouldn’t do much good to push her.</p><p>“Okay… just checking.”  Pansy said quietly and they were silent for a good minute before Hermione sat up fully again and stretched.</p><p>“So since it was apparently made correctly… what did you smell?”  Hermione asked and Pansy felt the panic set in, unsure of what <em> didn’t </em> sound like a lie for scents she could have had.</p><p>“I uh… it doesn’t matter.  Didn’t recognize it.  You?”  Pansy asked and Hermione shrugged and looked away.</p><p>“Not a big deal, I would just rather not say, you know?”  Hermione asked and Pansy nodded, although she wanted to press the subject.  She just was curious, it didn’t matter either way if she was also the subject of Hermione’s amortita.</p><p>“Sure, sure.  Well I’m sure whoever it is smelt you too…”  Pansy said and Hermione gave her a wry smile and shook her head.</p><p>“I <em> Highly </em> doubt that.  But thank you for the uh, the vote of confidence.”  She said and Pansy nodded, feeling awkward.  There was no <em> reason </em> to, it's not as though Hermione <em> knew </em> what she had smelt.</p><p>“Of course.  We’re friends, after all.”  Pansy said, the word feeling heavy in her mouth.  Hermione sighed and nodded, opening up her textbook.</p><p>“Right… friends…”  She mumbled, and they spent the rest of the hour working in silence.</p><hr/><p>This is why she doesn’t do friendships, and why she doesn’t trust people.  Pansy had made sure to show up 15 minutes early for prefect rounds because she knew Hermione would want to start right away, and now it was 10 minutes past when they were supposed to start, and she still hadn’t shown.  That was enough to cause a mild suspicion if you <em> didn’t </em> know Hermione Jean Granger -Merlin, when had she managed to learn her <em> middle </em> name?  This had to stop-, but Pansy knew that <em> this </em> late meant something was horribly wrong, so she set out to look.  About five minutes later she heard sounds down a normally quiet hallway -especially at this hour- and drew her wand out, hiding it in her sleeve.  She crept towards what looked like two figures and drew her wand fully out.</p><p>“<em> Lumos. </em> ”  Pansy whispered, and the two people blinked and squinted at her, and when Pansy noticed who it was, her wand clattered to the floor.  Well, there goes her answer of who Hermione must’ve smelled in their amortita today.<br/>“Pansy!”  Hermione said, pushing Ron fully away, and the boy blinked slowly, looking a little bit confused.</p><p>“Bloody hell, what was- Oh.  Parkinson.  Can’t you see we’re busy?”  Ron snapped, looking all too chuffed with himself as he reached for Hermione, who pointedly stayed out of his reach and looked at Pansy with something in her eyes.  Sorrow?  No, it was probably just <em> pity </em> .  Pansy clenched her jaw and picked up her wand, muttering the counterspell.</p><p>“Oh.  Right.  Sorry, didn’t realize you were <em> busy </em> .  When you didn’t show up I got worried but <em> hah! </em> Why even worry at all?  Good to know you’ve found something to occupy your time.”</p><p>“Pansy please-.”  Hermione tried but Pansy didn’t let her finish because she was already walking away.</p><p>“You were late for rounds, Granger.  But it's fine.  Since you’re <em> busy </em> I’ll just do them by myself.”  She spat, hearing footsteps start behind her.  This is exactly what her reputation didn’t need right now:  Drama.</p><p>“Pansy wait up!” Hermione called and Pansy must’ve been walking faster than usual because she heard the other witch all but running to catch up with her, and she stopped dead and turned around, almost colliding with Hermione.</p><p>“No.”  Pansy growled and Hermione swallowed heavily and looked up at her.</p><p>“Pansy...”  She said, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder.  It honestly felt like it burned, being touched by her right now.</p><p>“Get your <em> fucking </em> hand off of me!  Seriously!”  Pansy growled, knowing she must look crazy, her fists clenched, her breath going wildly, standing rigid, and Hermione took a step away from her in shock.</p><p>“Oh.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy knew her breathing had gone erratic and she intentionally did her best to slow it down.  She was <em> not </em> letting this girl get the better of her right now, that would be ridiculous.</p><p>“It's bad enough that you were late to rounds and left me there standing like an <em> idiot </em> , I showed up early for once, by the way, but blowing them off to snog Ronald Billius Weasley?!  What the <em> hell </em> was that about, I thought you two were done.”  Pansy said, her voice going dangerously calm, her everything else screaming <em> DANGERDANGERDANGER </em> because she was <em> this </em> close to exploding.</p><p>“We were but- No, you know what?  If you want to be mad about this, then I get to be mad.  First off, its none of your <em> fucking </em> business what I’m doing, you’re not my keeper, we’ve only been talking to each other for a month and a half!  Second off, if you were so worried about why I was late, why’d it take you 15 minutes to even realize?”  Hermione snapped, and Pansy rolled her eyes, glaring back down at the other witch.  She’d never realized that Hermione was shorter than her by enough to be looked down on, but given the situation, it helped immensely.</p><p>“I realized it right away!  I showed up at our post 15 minutes early!”  Pansy snapped back and Hermione held up a hand in front of Pansy’s face, and she resisted the urge to shove it away.</p><p>“I’m not done!  Lastly… you’ve got no right telling me who I can and cannot snog-.” Pansy cut her off and shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing together.</p><p>“I didn’t-.”  She started, trying to say she didn’t say that, because she <em> didn’t </em> she was just pissed off that Hermione hadn’t shown up.</p><p>“Shut up!  I’m still talking!  Because it's not like I’m your <em> girlfriend </em> so what does it matter to you anyways?”  Hermione sneered and with that, every organ in Pansy’s body felt like it had been doused in cold water, because before her stood the girl Pansy had always <em> thought </em> Hermione was: Stubborn, arrogant, and always wanting to get her way or come out on top, regardless of who was getting hurt in the process.  Completely different from who she had gotten to know over the last couple of weeks, and it sobered her in that moment.</p><p>“Wow.  You’re right.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione raised an eyebrow and looked taken aback by Pansy’s sudden change of heart.</p><p>“Huh?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged, tightening her fists and taking a step towards Hermione, the anger clear as day in her eyes.</p><p>“What does it <em> matter </em> to me anyways that someone I considered a friend is off snogging some boy.  Oh you know, the exact <em> boy </em> she dumped for harassing me about my sexuality.  The exact <em> boy </em> who hasn’t stopped since!  The exact <em> boy </em> that i had to help you avoid by going to Hogsmeade with you so he wouldn’t think you were lying about blowing him off!  So yeah, why does it matter?”  Pansy said, getting progressively louder until the last word was a shout, and she felt hot tears pricking the sides of her eyes, and she knew her face must be getting blotchy, like it did right before she cried.  Hermione blinked, and Pansy saw that all the anger had drained from the other girl’s body and all that remained was concern.</p><p>“Pansy I-.”  Hermione tried placing a hand on Pansy’s cheek to make her look back at her, but Pansy smacked it down and shook her head, angrily rubbing at her eyes to keep the tears in.  She would not let something this <em> stupid </em> break her.  She’d been through so much already, that wouldn’t fucking help.</p><p>“No.  I said don’t touch me.”  Pansy snapped and Hermione looked a little hurt as she tried to reason with her.</p><p>“Please-.”  Pansy cut her off and sighed.</p><p>“And another thing.  I never assumed nor implied that you were my <em> fucking </em> girlfriend.  This may come as a shock to you, but Slytherin’s worry about their <em> friends </em> too.  Not shocked that you don’t know that, considering your tongue was just down the throat of someone who openly thinks we’re all evil.”  Pansy reminded her and Hermione wouldn't meet her eyes right now.  Pathetic.</p><p>“I’m so-.”  She cut her off and shook her head.</p><p>“No.  Go to hell, Granger.  I don’t need you for rounds tonight, I’ll just do it on my fucking own.” Pansy snapped.  She was done, she just wanted to <em>go</em>.</p><p>“Pansy-.”  Hermione tried again and Pansy shook her head and crossed her arms, looking at the wall.</p><p>“I don’t want to be around you.  Like… ever again.  You wanna know why I don’t have many <em> friends </em> ?”  Pansy asked and Hermione sighed.  Pansy didn't want to deal with her anymore, she wanted this to be over, why did Hermione not get that?</p><p>“Listen-.”  Hermione tried and Pansy held up her hands, just needing to finish what was in her head.</p><p>“It's because of people like <em> you </em> .  People I start to trust, start to think have maybe changed their minds about some stuff and then I turn around and they’re the exact same as they were.  I let my guard down around you, and I really thought that this was different. You know what you are, Granger?”  Pansy sneered, and Hermione blinked, flinching away.  She was expecting Pansy to say that <em> word </em> , and she knew it, but she didn’t even consider it.  She was different from Draco, she could get mad without throwing slurs around.</p><p>“What?” Hermione asked, and Pansy got right up in her face, so close she could smell it all… the cinnamon, the floral scent, the sweet scent… old books.  It was enough to cloud her head for a moment, but only a <em> moment </em> , and then she was back.</p><p>“A hypocrite.  I changed so I could better be your friend, I stood up to <em> Draco fucking Malfoy </em> earlier today for you because I really did care about you.  But it's pretty clear you didn’t share the same sentiment.  And you wanna know what?  I take it back.”  She said, and leaned away, going to walk down an opposite hallway.</p><p>“You take what back?”  Hermione asked and Pansy froze and her shoulders sagged.  She didn’t want to say it.</p><p>“I don’t think you’d do the same for me, I don’t think you’d help me, and I really don’t think you gave a damn in the first place.”  Pansy said, almost softly as she turned around to face Hermione.  Of all the things she’d said, this one seemed to have hurt the other witch the most.</p><p>“P-.”  Pansy held up her hand and felt like ice was running through her veins.  She felt like her old self again, and made a mental note to never let herself go soft again.  It wasn’t worth being in pain over something so <em> stupid </em> .</p><p>“I think we should stop hanging out after the project is done.  After all, all you wanted was a good grade, right?”  Pansy said, her voice devoid of any emotion she was currently feeling, despite the spiral of despair right under her surface.</p><p>“Maybe at first but-.” Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  There was no <em> but </em> about this, just the maybe at first was needed.</p><p>“Then that's all this is.  We’re working on a <em> project </em> together, but I will <em> never </em> be your friend. <em> Never </em>.”  Pansy snapped, and left a very shaken Hermione Granger in the middle of the hallway as she walked off to do her rounds.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Going through the motions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Homophobia</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been 4 days since Pansy had broken off her friendship with Hermione and she was right miserable.  Other than going to classes and meals and the mandatory prefect rounds (Which she had been careful to <em> not </em>do with Hermione, not for lack of the other witch trying), she hadn’t left her dorm of her own volition and people were beginning to notice.</p><p>“Pans… hey…” Daphne said quietly, shaking her shoulder.  Pansy groaned and popped her head out from under her blankets, sighing heavily.  She didn’t want to <em> see </em>anyone, let alone talk to them.</p><p>“What?”  She asked and Daphne chewed her lip for a moment and stepped aside to reveal the rest of her dorm, waiting by the door as if it was an intervention.</p><p>“We’re going to Hogsmeade, wondering if you wanted to join us?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy grimaced and burrowed further down under her blanket</p><p>“No thank you.   I’m fine.”  She mumbled, pulling it back over her head.  That lasted about 3 seconds before Daphne yanked the blanket off her entirely and crossed her arms.  Oh, so nice Daphne is gone now.  Great.</p><p>“Pansy you haven’t left this dorm since things blew up in your friendship with Granger, you’re taking it like I took my breakups with Blaise-.”  Pansy shot her a glare.  Not a good comparison at all.</p><p>“Wow, it's almost as if you <em> want </em>me to hex you in the throat right now.”  Pansy snapped, and Daphne sighed and raised her hands in defense, taking a large step away from the bed.  At least she knew she’d hit a boundary.</p><p>“Alright, sorry.  I’m not trying to push, I just… could you at least shower while we’re gone?”  Daphne asked, grimacing as she got close enough to pull the blanket back over Pansy, who shrugged and turned away in response.</p><p>“I’ll do my best.”  She mumbled, closing her eyes.  She just wanted to go back to sleep, it felt like the best way to handle her problems right now.</p><p>“And Pansy?”  Daphne asked, causing Pansy to sigh and sit back up. This was really interrupting her regular routine.</p><p>“What, Daph?”  She asked and Daphne smiled softly and shrugged.</p><p>“I’m here when you’re ready to talk about… whatever the fuck happened.”  Daphne said, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes.  She wasn’t about to say that she blew up from seeing Hermione kissing her ex, that made her sound crazy.</p><p>“Nothing happened.”  Pansy mumbled and Daphne sighed and shook her head.  Pansy knew Daphne wasn’t dumb enough to believe that, but Pansy can hope.</p><p>“Right.  Well, I’m not an idiot and you’re going to have to talk about it sometime so… I’m here.”  Daphne sighed, and then they were gone and Pansy was <em> finally </em> alone, but now she couldn’t sleep.  Damn Daphne and her insistence on actually trying to ask if things are good now.  If only she’d just kept herself from blowing up at Hogsmeade this all could’ve been avoided.  Pansy sighed and rolled over to sit up, deciding that maybe she should go take a shower, she couldn’t have smelt good right now.  She was almost out of the dormitories when she ran right into someone’s chest, and immediately recognized the cologne.  Draco.  That <em> would </em>be how things go today.</p><p>“Pansy!”  He said, steadying her so she wouldn’t fall.  Pansy jerked herself out of his grip and glared up at him, trying not to yell at him or hit him, but she really wanted to.  The last four days had been eye opening, and she realized she’d been too easy on Draco.</p><p>“Draco I am <em> not </em>in the mood.”  Pansy said through her clenched teeth and Draco swallowed heavily.</p><p>“No just hear me out… I’m… Merlin, this is harder than I thought.  I’m sorry.”  Draco said, sounding the words that came out of him physically hurt.  Pansy sighed and crossed her arms, looking away.</p><p>“What for?”  Pansy asked and Draco rubbed the back of his neck and sighed with a small smile on his face.</p><p>“I heard you and that mu-I mean, Granger, suddenly halted your friendship, and I know you don’t do well with that so I’m sorry.” He said and Pansy sighed.  Not the apology she was expecting, but it was kind of nice that he noticed that had happened, because that meant he might actually care about her.  But it never hurt to ask...</p><p>“Why do you care?” She asked and Draco shrugged, leaning against the wall as he tried to figure out what to say.</p><p>“Because you’re hurting, and… it's not fun to watch.”  Draco sighed and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  That was rich coming from <em> him </em>, after what he’d done to her recently.</p><p>“It was <em> fun </em>to watch last time.”  Pansy said bitterly and he shook his head quickly, looking like he was in pain.  Good to know he still had at least half a conscience.</p><p>“No it wasn’t, but I did what I had to do.”  Draco said and Pansy scoffed.  Like she was supposed to believe that.</p><p>“And what is that supposed to mean?”  She asked and Draco looked like he was going to throw up as he leaned closer to her.</p><p>“... I can’t tell you that yet but I promise I wouldn’t have done that if I had any other option.”  Draco whispered, and Pansy rolled her eyes and stepped back from him, suddenly a little self conscious about her smell.</p><p>“I don’t know if I believe you but… thanks for the apology.  I’m gonna go bathe, apparently I smell like death.”  Pansy said, and Draco smirked and pushed himself off the wall.</p><p>“Mhm, just a little bit.”  He said and Pansy chuckled and shoved him back.  She didn’t want to admit it, but she did miss their friendship.</p><p>“Sod off, Dray.”  Pansy said, and walked out up to the prefect bathroom and settled in.  The second she was sitting, Pansy started crying, just a little.  Just enough so that she didn’t feel like she was going to fall apart.  It was actually helping before she heard the door creek open and froze in place.</p><p>“... Shit.”  She hissed and slid low in the water, just peeking over the lip.  The person hadn’t turned around yet, maybe Pansy could escape.  She was about to move when the person turned around and <em> of course </em>it’s Granger, goddamn.  Hermione jumped and put her hand over her chest.</p><p>“Oh.  Sorry, the door wasn’t locked-.”  Pansy sighed and cut her off, leaning back just a little bit so she could be heard better.</p><p>“It's fine, Granger, just go, would you?  Normally people come into the bath to be <em> alone! </em>”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but she paused, and her face softened a bit.</p><p>“Are you crying?”  She asked quietly and Pansy shook her head and looked away, not wanting to hear that condescending tone again.</p><p>“Why does it matter to you?”  Pansy sighed and Hermione chuckled and shook her head.</p><p>“Because whether you’re going to believe me or not, I care about you.  I care about our friendship-.” Pansy cut her off and shook her head and looked away.  That wasn’t the case right now.</p><p>“We aren’t friends-.”  Pansy said and Hermione sighed and rubbed her temples, clearly a little annoyed by that.</p><p>“<em> Fine </em> .  I care about our <em> past </em>friendship, and I can’t stand seeing you cry.” Hermione stated and Pansy sniffled and rubbed under her eyes, trying to ignore the fact that Hermione had basically just said she was looking at her.</p><p>“Yeah, well, I’ve kinda been doing it for the past four days, so it's nothing new.”  Pansy muttered and Hermione sighed and leaned against the wall.</p><p>“Four days… oh.  Pansy-.”  Hermione said, her voice sounding apologetic.  Pansy quickly cut her off and glared.</p><p>“Don’t.  I don’t want your fucking pity.”  Pansy snapped and Hermione rolled her eyes and paced back and forth.</p><p>“It's <em> not </em>pity.  It's an apology, something I’ve been trying to say for the past four days but you’re shockingly good at icing people out and avoiding people.”  Hermione said and Pansy chuckled and nodded.  That's completely and utterly and correct, her mother had been a mighty good teacher about that.</p><p>“I’m a Slytherin in an unhappy family, it comes with the territory.”  She smirked and Hermione looked a little uncomfortable at that reminder.  But Pansy just wanted her to know </p><p>“... Right.  Anyways.  You clearly have nowhere to go, so I’m going to do it now.” Hermione said and Pansy sighed, raising her eyebrow.</p><p>“Can you at least face the wall, I’m not exactly dressed right now.”  Pansy said in a blase voice and Hermione's cheeks went a little bit pink as she nodded and turned her back to Pansy.</p><p>“I wasn’t looking, but yes of course.  Anyway.  I’m sorry I hurt you, I’m sorry I made that girlfriend comment, that was really fucking out of line, but I’m <em> so </em> confused right now and what you saw with Ron wasn’t me getting back together with him, it was me confirming that I <em> don’t </em>want to be with him.”  She said and Pansy's eyebrows shot up.  Oh.  Well... that's one good thing that came out of this whole thing.</p><p>“So you <em> didn’t </em>smell him in your amortita.”  Pansy said, mostly to herself but she heard Hermione laugh and she looked over at her to see that she was shaking her head. Well there's part of an answer.</p><p>“That's private, but no.  It wasn’t him that I smelt and I knew that the day of I just had to… confirm some things for myself.”  Hermione said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  There were probably much better ways to confirm whatever she needed to confirm other than kissing Ronald Weasley.</p><p>“And?”  Pansy asked, but Hermione shook her head.</p><p>“I can’t tell you what they are but I think they’re… mostly confirmed.”  Hermione said and Pansy raised her eyebrow.</p><p>“Why can’t you tell me?  What's so awful that you can’t even tell the school pariah, it's not like I talk to anyone anymore, except for Daph and Tracey but I wouldn’t-.”  Hermione sighed and cut her off.</p><p>“I know that, but I’m not… ready to discuss it.” Hermione said quietly and Pansy nodded.  She could respect that.</p><p>“Right.  Well, thank you for the apology.  And I <em> am </em>sorry I yelled at you, I’m normally better at keeping my cool.”   Pansy said, and Hermione had a little smile on her face as she nodded.</p><p>“Thanks… so are we good?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged.  Part of her wanted to say no, but that wasn’t true.  She wasn’t angry anymore… she was just hurt at this point and didn’t want to confront that.</p><p>“We were never not good, I just can’t… I can’t <em> do </em>this.”  Pansy said and Hermione raised her eyebrow.</p><p>“What?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed and shrugged.  She wanted this to <em> not </em>hurt.</p><p>“Be friends with someone like you… someone who works methodically through problems in a <em> very </em> interesting way, with someone who everyone likes, someone who has the exact opposite way of doing things from me, who only gets mad when the situation <em> actually </em>warrants it… it would never work.”  Pansy said quietly, and for a moment Hermione didn’t respond and Pansy thought, hoped, that she was going to leave.  But after a moment she heard the other girl clear her throat.</p><p>“All the reasons, all the differences you just listed…”  Hermione started, and she trailed off.  Pansy chuckled and rolled her eyes, dipping her hair into the water.  Okay, maybe she <em> did </em>smell as bad as Daphne had said before.</p><p>“What about them?  They’re true.”  Pansy said, and Hermione sighed in frustration and ran a hand through her hair and chuckled.</p><p>“They’re the exact reason I <em> like </em>being your friend.  It's a little challenging, but it's exciting, plus you actually listen unlike both Harry and Ron sometimes, it's nice to know someone cares about what I’m saying.”  Hermione said and the way she smiled at the end of that sentence sort of made Pansy’s chest hurt.</p><p>“I… I’m not saying we can never talk again.  I just need time.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione nodded, chewing on her lip.</p><p>“I understand that, and I’ll respect it.  I swear.  Um, I’ll lock the door when I leave because I’m pretty sure you don’t want anyone else barging in on you.” Hermione muttered, and immediately turned around to leave.  Pansy let out a breath of relief and leaned her head on the wall of the tub.</p><p>“Right.”  Pansy chuckled as Hermione shut the door behind her and the second she heard the lock engage, Pansy slid fully under the water and screamed out everything that was left in her body.</p><hr/><p>It had been a rather uneventful night following Hermione and her conversation, just the usual of Daphne pestering Pansy to open up and her refusing to, so it didn’t make sense why she was so <em> tired </em> .  She was honestly struggling to keep her eyes open at breakfast when her mail dropped in front of her.  Odd, her parents hardly ever wrote to her.  She felt the fear sink in when she realized it was a howler.  Oh Merlin <em> no </em>.  It started to move, and she wanted to sprint from the room but she needed to know what was being said.</p><p><em> “PANSY PARKINSON!  YOU HAVE MADE A MOCKERY OF THE PARKINSON NAME FOR THE LAST TIME.  I RECEIVED NEWS FROM A CONFIDANT OF MINE THAT YOU HAVE… ROMANTIC INTERESTS IN WOMEN, AND THAT YOU HAVE BROKEN OFF YOUR INSTRUCTED RELATIONSHIP WITH MR. DRACO MALFOY.  BOTH OF THESE ARE REASONS WHY AS OF TODAY, YOU ARE NO LONGER MY DAUGHTER, YOU ARE A STRANGER TO ME AND YOUR MOTHER, WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE ANYMORE AND WE ARE WORKING TO HAVE YOUR MEMORY PERMANENTLY ERASED FROM OUR MINDS AND FROM OUR BLOODLINE.  YOU ARE A TRAITOR AND WE CANNOT BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE LIKES OF YOU.  WE WILL BE MAILING YOU YOUR THINGS OVER THE NEXT WEEK.  I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU IN GOOD HEALTH, THE MAN WHO USED TO BE YOUR FATHER!” </em> When the howler finally silenced, Pansy felt faint.  The entire Great Hall had fallen silent and she realized everyone was staring at her and immediately her eyes fell on Draco, who looked stricken by the whole ordeal.</p><p>“<em> You. </em> ”  Pansy croaked and Draco shook his head quickly and stood up, leaning across the table, trying to keep his voice low and steady.  A clear sign of a <em> liar </em>.</p><p>“Pansy, I know what you think but it wasn’t me!  That letter, it never went to my parents, it never went anywhere, I didn’t do it!”  Draco said, speaking in a rushed, very anxious voice.  Pansy slammed her hands on the table, damn near nose to nose with him.</p><p>“Then how did they know <em> everything </em>?”  Pansy hissed, and she noticed the sound of snickering and looked over at where Crabbe and Goygle were sitting and laughing with each other </p><p>“Oh was that meant to be a secret… oops.”  Crabbe said, and Pansy's heart dropped into her stomach.  This cannot be happening, this is a dream.</p><p>“We let it slide to your father… figured he should know what kind of a daughter he <em> really </em>raised.” Goygle cackled and Pansy felt faint as she saw the color drain from Draco's face.  He really didn't know what was happening.</p><p>“You WHAT?!  Pansy-.” Draco tried but Pansy was already recoiling.  She felt like if anyone touched her she would fall apart right now.</p><p>“<em> Don’t touch me! </em>”  She cried and ran out of the great hall, sprinting down the corridor as someone came up behind her, but she realized it was just Hermione, and she collapsed on the floor.  Hermione kneeled next to her but didn't touch her, like she knew.</p><p>“Pansy I-.” She started, and was interrupted by someone sliding to a stop by her.</p><p>“Pansy, wait up! Granger what are you-.”  Draco got cut off by Hermione, who stood up, leaving Pansy in her ball on the ground.  She would've thanked 'Mione for that but she can't even speak.</p><p>“Not the time Malfoy, we have to get her somewhere where she <em> isn’t </em>going to be seen.” Hermione said through clenched teeth.  Pansy wanted to tell them to go away, that she was fine, but she couldn't get herself to speak at that moment.</p><p>“You’re right, she hates people seeing her cry.” Draco responded and Hermione seemed to agree, but she didn’t say anything.  A moment later, Pansy was hit with the smell of cinnamon next to her.</p><p>“Hey… hey give me your hand.”  Hermione whispered and Pansy shook her head.  She just wanted to be left alone.</p><p>“No.”  She whimpered and Hermione sighed and took her head and surprisingly… Pansy didn’t freak out more, she actually felt a little bit calmer.</p><p>“<em> Now. </em>  It wasn’t a question.  Malfoy, take her other arm.  Where are we taking her?”  Hermione asked, and Draco pulled her up and looped an arm through his, but Hermione didn’t change her grip.  She kept her hand firmly wrapped around Pansy’s as they sped-walked away from where they were.</p><p>“Slytherin common room.”  Draco said, and Hermione tensed a little bit, but didn’t slow down or let go of Pansy’s hand.</p><p>“I can’t-.”  Draco sighed in frustration and shot her a glare.</p><p>“Listen, I hate you, Granger.  I really do, but right now she needs us to get her down there, and I can’t <em> go </em>in the actual girls dorms, so she needs someone with her so she doesn’t do anything drastic.   I’ll take the house point hit myself, but I’m not leaving her alone!”  He snapped and Pansy expected Hermione to yell back, it would make sense, but she didn’t.</p><p>“You’re right.”  Hermione responded, but it was very clear that Draco didn’t hear her at all.</p><p>“And I know- Wait, what?”  He asked, finally letting what Hermione had said sink in.  His shock made sense, rare was the day they agreed.</p><p>“I said you’re <em> right </em> .  We need to go, now.” Hermione said through clenched teeth and most days Pansy would’ve laughed at the comical way Draco paused and blinked like his whole <em> world </em>just shifted, but she wasn’t emotionally there for that right now.</p><p>“Uh… yeah, I mean, yeah.  Of course I’m right.”  Draco said, trying to sound sure.  Pansy shook her head as her breathing turned more to hyperventilating.  She felt Hermione's grip on her hand tighten as the other girl looked at her with concern.  After what felt like an eternity of walking, they turned the corner to the Dungeon and paused outside the door.  Somewhere in Pansy’s brain she was realizing that the passcode was going to offend Hermione, and she thought maybe Draco was there too because he looked nervous to even say it.  Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.</p><p>“Say the passcode, one of you.  I already know it's something offensive.”  Hermione said in a bored voice and Draco took a deep breath </p><p>“... <em> Pureblood </em> .” He whispered and Pansy didn’t even have to look at Hermione to see the annoyance on her face, she could <em> sense </em>it.</p><p>“Oh my god are you serious, thats-.”  Hermione started but Draco gave her one look of warning as they dragged Pansy past the entrance.</p><p>“Not the <em> time </em>Granger!  Take her to her dorm and get her laying down.  I’ll leave something as close to them as I can get, and I’ll yell to you when it's there.”  He said, fully passing Pansy over to Hermione who let go of her hand in favor of wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  Pansy couldn’t help but admit she missed the contact.  It had been… nice.  Hermione’s hands were warm and soft, which was a pleasant change from Pansy’s normal coldness.</p><p>“Right.”  Hermione muttered, and shouldered open the door, looking at Pansy for some guidance.  Oh.  Right, she’d never been down here.  Pansy jutted her chin in the direction of her bed and Hermione sat her down, sitting a far enough way away that Pansy didn’t feel cornered.</p><p>“I can’t… I can’t….”  Pansy whispered and Hermione reached over and laced their fingers together again before using her free hand to gently move Pansy’s face to look at her.  She had determination burning her eyes and it made Pansy a little breathless.</p><p>“Hey, <em> yes </em> you can.  You’ve got plenty of people who love and care about you without that hateful family in your life.  You’re Pansy <em> fucking </em>Parkinson, don’t let this be the thing that destroys you.”  Hermione said firmly and Pansy sighed and looked away again.  She really wished it was that easy.</p><p>“It's my <em> family, </em>Granger.”  Pansy said softly and Hermione sighed and rubbed her thumb over Pansy’s palm, clearly trying to offer more comfort.  It felt odd, the sensation of that, but not unwelcome so Pansy let it continue.</p><p>“I know… I get that.  But… Harry’s grown up and made his own family because he lost his… I’ve made my own wizarding family… maybe it's your turn.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy breathed in a shaky breath and shook her head</p><p>“But what if no one wants me-.”  She started and Hermione cut her off before she could finish her sentence.</p><p>“People want you.  They do.”  Hermione responded with firmness. How could she be <em> so </em>sure of that?</p><p>“I <em> can’t </em>go home to a pureblooded holiday this year, that's what I’d get with my friends here.” Pansy whispered, the world feeling like it was spinning.  Hermione reached over and pulled Pansy to her, resting her head on her shoulder.  It was calming, but the panic did kick up again when she smelt Hermione's perfume.  On top of dealing with what her father had said her brain was now saying ‘you’re a disgrace, you’re going to freak her out, she probably won’t want to be around you when she finds out.’  These thoughts were interrupted by Hermione</p><p>“So we’ll figure something out.  I’ll talk to Ginny and-.”  Pansy snickered and shook her head, momentarily shaking herself out of her panic because the idea of spending concentrated time around Ron Weasley was hilarious.</p><p>“Ron would lose his <em> shit </em>if I showed up at the Weasleys.” Pansy snorted and Hermione shrugged, clearly not worried about that.</p><p>“Frankly, Ron doesn’t get a say.  He brings home Harry, Ginny normally brings me, but we’ll write Molly and see if she can’t make an exception.  It would break her heart to know someone doesn’t have a place to go for holiday.”  Hermione said quietly and that reminded Pansy that while she may have something for the holiday, she has nowhere to go when the school year ends.  Shit.</p><p>“I have nowhere to go when school lets out.”  Pansy mumbled, feeling the panic set back in.  What was she supposed to do? The thought of being forced on the street was all that remained in her head right now.  Hermione sighed and rubbed her shoulder to try and calm her down a bit</p><p>“Hold on… you have your own bank account, don’t you?  One your parents don’t have access to?”  Hermione asked and Pansy blinked, surprised that Hermione had managed to retain that.  She’d mentioned it once in passing but never really talked about it.  At least that proved Hermione had been listening to her.</p><p>“Yeah, it's where I’ve been putting my monthly allowances since I was 12.  Why?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione’s brain seemed to be working through something.</p><p>“How much is in there?”  She asked and Pansy huffed and looked away, not wanting to expose that right now.</p><p>“I’m embarrassed to say.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione sighed and leaned back on her palms, looking down at Pansy.</p><p>“Just <em> say </em>it.  I need to know.”  Hermione said and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, shifting so she was laying on her back with her head solidly resting on Hermione’s lap as she stared up at the top of her tapestry.</p><p>“Well… I received 1000 a month for the last four years… taking out little expenses like Hogsmede and books… I have about 200,000 Galleons saved.”  She mumbled, and Hermione nodded, chewing on her lip.  Pansy could honestly only wonder what was going on in her head, it wasn’t an easy thing to decipher.</p><p>“And your parents know nothing about that account, right?”  Hermione asked and Pansy raised an eyebrow up at her.</p><p>“Right.”  She said cautiously, and Hermione nodded, looking a little triumphant.  Pansy just wanted to know what the hell was going on right now.</p><p>“So there's no way for them to seize it back, that's good.  You can use that money to rent a room in Diagon Alley for the summer… if it's on week by week, I’d say the most you’d have to spend is 3,000 galleons.”  Hermione said, and Pansy blinked.  How had she done that math that quickly?</p><p>“That could work.  I’d be alone…”  Pansy said, and that did make her a little nervous.  She’d never been on her own before, not entirely anyways, and not physically.  Sometimes her whole life felt like she was on her own emotionally.</p><p>“I’d be able to visit you.  I live in muggle London over the summer except for the last bit when I normally go to the Burrow.”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  Was that supposed to be common knowledge, what that was?</p><p>“The Burrow?”  Pansy asked and Hermione smiled down at her, running her fingers through Pansy’s hair.</p><p>“The Weasleys.  But you’d have someone to visit with sometimes.  And I can give you my address for owls.  You’re going to make it through this, okay?”  She said and Pansy took a deep breath and nodded, going to sit back up, but Hermione kept her where she was.  It’s good to know she’s not crushing the girl.</p><p>“... Okay.  Okay.  Maybe you’re right.  I can do this.”  Pansy breathed, wiping some more tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes, thinking Hermione <em> hadn’t </em>noticed (she’d honestly cried too much today, it was starting to feel like an issue.)  But of course she did and she grabbed Pansy’s hand and squeezed it tight.</p><p>“Breathe.  You don’t need someone who doesn’t want to be around you.”  Hermione whispered and Pansy recovered enough to shoot her a wry grin.</p><p>“You talking about yourself, Granger?”  She teased and Hermione rolled her eyes and used her free hand to swat Pansy’s shoulder gently.</p><p>“Shut up, I never didn’t want to be around you after everything exploded, you were the one avoiding me!”  She said, and Pansy sighed.  Hermione wasn’t <em> wrong </em> but given the circumstances, Pansy did feel that she was in the right.  But she did miss Hermione...</p><p>“Right, right.  Um… is it okay if we just…”  Pansy trailed off, it was hard to say ‘forget it’ because she wanted to remember so she didn’t get hurt next time, but she also didn’t want it in her mind all the time.</p><p>“Let that go?”  Hermione offered, and Pansy nodded.</p><p>“Yeah.  That.” She muttered and Hermione slowly let a smile spread across her features as she nodded.</p><p>“Of course, Pans.”  She said, and went back to running her fingers gently through Pansy’s hair.  She was starting to relax when the dorm door was thrown open to reveal a very out of breath Daphne, holding something in her hands.</p><p>“I’m here! I’m here, don't worry!  Pans- Oh.  Granger.”  Daphne said, crossing her arms.  The disgust and distrust were both clear in her voice as she glared at the Gryffindor, who shifted uncomfortably.  Pansy sighed and rubbed her eyes.</p><p>“Don’t, Daphne.  I’m not mad anymore so you have to let it go.”  She said softly, but Daphne wasn’t convinced.</p><p>“How do I know you aren’t going to hurt her again?”  Daphne asked, this time directing it at Hermione, who shrugged.</p><p>“You don’t.  But you can believe that I won’t try to because I never wanted to hurt her in the first place.  I care about her, Greengrass and so do you, so just let it go right now.”  Hermione mumbled and she saw Daphne <em> physically </em>hold herself back from saying anything, and watched as she plastered a giant fake smile on her face and took a deep breath.  Oh, Pansy was going to hear about this later she could just tell.</p><p>“Okay… Draco left this outside the door.”  Daphne said, thrusting forward a cup and an old jumper.  Hermione rolled her eyes and took them, setting the cup on the floor and handing the jumper to Pansy, who put it on quickly.  The surges of emotion had left her <em> freezing </em> and this was better than nothing.  She almost choked at the amount of cologne that was on it, like seriously, had Draco never heard of <em> washing </em> it?  But she also noticed some hints of something earthy and sweet, which was a far cry from Draco.  She couldn’t help but wonder what girl had been wearing his sweater.  She didn’t <em> care. </em>It was just odd that she hadn’t seen anyone with him.</p><p>“Fucking wanker… he was supposed to shout that it was there.”  Hermione growled, still running her fingers through Pansy’s hair.  It <em> was </em>relaxing, Pansy had to admit, the casual amount of affection.  She’d never really had someone do this.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head in disbelief.</p><p>“Damn, Granger.  Got a mouth on you today.”  Daphne said, actually sounding a little impressed. Hermione shrugged, still looking a little fiery in her eyes.</p><p>“So sorry if I’m a little volatile, our friend just got disowned over something she can’t even control!”  Hermione snapped and Daphne leaned against the wall and nodded, her face have ghosts of anger wash over it.</p><p>“I know, I want to kill her father.  Pans, you could move in with me-.” Daphne started, but Pansy cut her off, looking away.  She could never be a part of that again, not after all this.</p><p>“Daphne, that's sweet, but I can’t go back to pureblood tradition after this.  It would be too much.”  Pansy said and Daphne sighed.</p><p>“Where will you go?”  Daphne asked quietly, and Pansy looked over, seeing the concern in her eyes.  It wasn’t a rare occurrence but it still felt special, that Daphne cared about her.</p><p>“Rent a room in diagon alley.”  She mumbled and Daphne sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, this plan obviously sitting wrong with her.  Pansy knew she wanted to help me, hell she wanted to save, Pansy would do the same if Daph was in her shoes.</p><p>“That sounds lonely.”  Daphne commented and Pansy shrugged, letting her eyes flutter shut for the moment.</p><p>“Sometimes I like the quiet, plus… Hermione here lives in muggle London.” Pansy said and Daphne raised an eyebrow and looked to Hermione.</p><p>“Oh?”  She asked and Hermione nodded</p><p>“Yeah.” She said and Daphne sighed and stretched for a moment.  She’d obviously ran here, Pansy could tell from the slightly heavy breathing that still was coming from her.  There was really  no need for Daphne to <em> act </em>unbothered by everything right now, this was a big deal.</p><p>“So you’ll keep tabs on our girl?”  Daphne asked, sitting down on her bed and leaning back on her palms.</p><p>“I’m not your-.”   But before Pansy could finish, Hermione cut her off with a quick nod of her head and a squeeze of Pansy’s hand.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Greengrass.  I will.” Hermione said and Pansy couldn’t fully ignore the flip of her stomach at the fact that Hermione had so readily responded to that.</p><p>“Well if that's the case… call me Daphne.”  Daphne said, holding out her hand to be shook</p><p>“Hermione.” She said, leaning over Pansy’s head to shake Daphne’s hand.</p><p>“This is gonna be hard.”  Daphne muttered, and Hermione chuckled and shifted around a little bit, obviously being careful of where Pansy was resting.</p><p>“Not any <em> easier </em> on my end.”  Hermione said, and Pansy opened her eyes, ready to stop any fighting but was surprised to see <em> both </em>girls relaxed and smiling.  Okay.  She could work with that, and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she could make her own family.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The new normal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The new normal that Pansy had fallen into was something that even three weeks ago, she would have found to be bothersome and stupid, but what this had made Pansy realize was there were some things she couldn’t get through on her own.  Now thats not to say that she’s not an independent person, just that being disowned is something that takes a lot out of a person.  So now, Pansy let Hermione walk with her to the Great Hall in the mornings, she actually tried to talk to Daphne and Tracey instead of just snapping at them, and she was even <em> starting </em>to patch things up with Draco.  Granted, there was not full trust there, and there probably never would be, but it was nice to have an old friend back.  Plus, enough people were wary of him that when they were together, the bullying all but stopped.  Most of the time.</p><p>“Oi!  Parkinson.”  Pansy heard Ron call out behind her and she sighed, looking over and seeing Draco start to sneer.  She raised a hand to calm him down and quell any potential outbursts.  She didn’t need that today.</p><p>“Yes, Ronald?”  Pansy asked, keeping her voice calm.  Ron was looking at her like he was all too pleased with himself, like he’d just caught Pansy doing something illegal.  Walking to class isn’t illegal, so he must be confused.</p><p>“‘Mione know you’re hanging out with that <em> asshol </em>e?”  Ron sneered and Pansy rolled her eyes. Was that really all this was about?  Pansy resuming her friendship with someone she had been close with since first year?  This had to be some kind of joke.</p><p>“One, yes she does know, two why would that affect you?”  Pansy asked with a small smirk on her face.  Hermione had been trying to put some distance between Ron and her, just until he calmed down about wanting to get back together, and Pansy could tell it was driving him crazy.  He was looking for any reason to be the hero right now.</p><p>“Really?  You’re hanging out with the guy who has harassed her for <em> years </em> like there's nothing wrong with that.”  Ron snapped and Pansy shrugged.  Hermione was still casually friends with the guy who had been all but stalking and harassing her because he couldn’t get over his ex so same difference.</p><p>“I’m allowed to have other friends, Hermione gets that.”  Pansy said in a bored voice because if this is all Ron has on her, then she’s just fine.</p><p>“Fine, do what you want, but you’re only confirming what everyone already thinks about you.”  Ron said, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. Pansy almost laughed because <em> yeah </em>maybe that had worked at Hogsmeade but after getting disowned she was fairly certain that nothing could hurt her feelings anymore.</p><p>“Oh?  Care to enlighten me, I haven’t exactly had much time to stay all caught up on the latest gossip about me.”  Pansy said with a smirk and Ron narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, prompting Draco to grip his wand tightly.  Pansy grabbed his wrist and shook her head slightly because she could deal with Weasley with words just fine.</p><p>“That you’re still a blood supremacist.  That you’re probably just using this friendship with ‘Mione to make yourself look better.  You don’t care about her, you just-.”  Pansy couldn’t stop Draco from stepping in front of her and pulling his wand out fully, pointing it at Ron.  Pansy found this a little stupid because she didn’t <em> know </em>what Ron was going to say.  Sure, it felt like it was going somewhere offensive but people can surprise you.</p><p>“Don’t think I won’t do it, Weasel.”  Draco snapped, and Ron rolled his eyes and pulled his wand out, matching Draco’s stance.</p><p>“I’m not scared of you, Malfoy!”  Ron sneered and Pansy sighed and put a hand on Draco’s shoulder.  She really should stop this before a professor comes by and gives them all detention.</p><p>“Draco no-.”  She started and was interrupted by Hermione doing the same thing to Ron, except including a swat on the arm.  Where the hell had she <em> come </em>from?  She just appeared.</p><p>“Ron, put your wand down, seriously.”  Hermione said, clearly sounding a little annoyed as she walked over to Pansy’s side.  Ron stood there, mouth agape, clearly not expecting this to be the outcome.</p><p>“But she’s hanging out with Malfoy!  That's not okay!”  He said, his voice cracking on the word ‘okay’.  Hermione shook her head and sighed, looking over at Pansy.  Pansy could feel the irritation rolling off of her.</p><p>“You aren’t the judge of that, plus they’re <em> allowed </em>to hang out.  They’re housemates after all.” Hermione stated, looping her arm through Pansy’s.  Ron huffed and crossed his arms, but not before pocketing his wand.</p><p>“I don’t trust it-.”  Ron started and Hermione interrupted him, narrowing her eyes.</p><p>“Well, then I guess it's really good that I never asked for your permission, now isn’t it? Are you ready for Herbology?”  She asked Pansy, who flashed her a quick smile and nodded.  She’d been heading there either way.  Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes, storming off away from them, which Pansy had no issue with.</p><p>“Yeah.  Lets go.”  Pansy said, and Hermione paused before they left and turned around, looking at where Draco was standing.</p><p>“Malfoy.”  Hermione said, and Draco’s head snapped up and he sighed in annoyance, leaning against the wall.  They were still working on the whole ‘we should get along’ thing, and Pansy wasn’t shocked that it was taking a while.  They were diametrically opposed on every topic.</p><p>“Hm?  What, Granger?”  He snapped and Hermione raised her hands in defense and rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Don’t bite my head off, I was just wondering if you wanted to walk with us, seeing as we’re all headed to the same place.”  She said and Draco blinked in surprise.  Clearly, he wasn’t expecting something nice to come out of Hermione’s mouth.</p><p>“Oh.  No, I’m okay.  I’ve uh… gotta meet with someone.  I’ll see you guys in there.” Draco mumbled, and Pansy noticed the blush creeping up his neck.  Draco <em> was </em>hiding something, she just had to find out what.</p><p>“Who’s he meeting?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged.  They were talking again, but they still weren’t insanely close to each other.</p><p>“I’ve got no idea, but I <em> do </em>think he may have a new girlfriend.”  Pansy said, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head.</p><p>“How would you know that?”  She asked and Pansy smirked.  She’d been wanting to talk to someone about this ever since her disownment.</p><p>“When i wore his sweater… it smelled like his cologne-.”  She said, and Hermione snorted and interrupted her.</p><p>“No surprise there, he practically drowns himself in it.”  Hermione said, clearly amused with herself.  Pansy gave her a look and rolled her eyes.  It’s rude to interrupt when someone’s in the middle of a rant.</p><p>“<em> Anyways, </em> but it also smelled like someone else entirely, meaning he hasn’t been the only one wearing that sweater.”  Pansy explained and Hermione raised an eyebrow and nodded.  Pansy knew this wasn't as interesting to her, but she also knew that Hermione didn’t mind it so much when she rambled.</p><p>“Interesting.  So he’s probably meeting up with his secret girlfriend, then?”   Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  She assumed as much at least, or else why wouldn’t he just say where he was going.</p><p>“I’d guess so.  I wonder what makes it so taboo that he can’t openly see her…  Oh, maybe she’s a muggle!  His parents would <em> hate </em>that, they’re worse than mine.”  Pansy said and Hermione smirked and quirked up an eyebrow, elbowing Pansy in the ribs.</p><p>“You know what would be even worse for him?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy arched her eyebrow.  Well, this could go a number of ways.</p><p>“What?”  She asked and Hermione chuckled before she even said the joke.</p><p>“A <em> Gryffindor </em>.”  Hermione said with a grin, and Pansy rolled her eyes and shook her head, but did let a small smile on her face.  Hermione had taken to making jokes that she normally wouldn’t in an attempt to make Pansy lighten up, and it was working.</p><p>“Funny, Granger.  Never thought I’d hear you make a joke like that.”  Pansy snorted and Hermione shrugged as they settled down into their seats.  The fact that Hermione was diversifying her humor only made her better to be around, at least in Pansy’s opinion.</p><p>“Well, I guess you’re rubbing off on me.”  Hermione said, looking over at her with a smirk.  Pansy flicked an eyebrow up and rested her head on her arms, looking up at Hermione.  She gave Pansy a look, which she had come to know was something along the lines of ‘I swear to god if you don’t pay attention I can and I <em> will </em>hex you.’  But she didn’t say that, and her look softened within seconds.</p><p>“Guess so.”  Hermione said and Pansy opened her mouth to reply when Madame Sprout clapped her hands together, sending Pansy back into a rigid seated position in her chair, which earned a soft chuckle from Hermione.</p><p>“Class!  Attention please!  Thank you.  Now, today is the last day of your projects, I expect the paper on my desk by tomorrow, no exceptions!”  Madame Sprout said, and the murmuring started.  Pansy honestly couldn’t believe it was all almost over, it felt surreal.</p><p>“Wow.  Two months really… flew by.”  Hermione mumbled, leaning back in her chair a bit.  Pansy noticed that she looked a little wistful, almost sad so she decided that she should try and brighten Hermione’s mood a bit with some humor.  Granted, it wasn’t going to be tasteful humor, but it would be funny nonetheless.</p><p>“Maybe for you.  I got outed, disowned, harassed, <em> and </em> stopped and restarted a friendship in that time.  This has been the <em> longest </em>two months of my life.”  Pansy said, and for a moment Hermione looked at her with apologetic eyes before she saw the cheshire cat-esque smile stretched across Pansy’s face.  Pansy could pinpoint the exact moment that Hermione realized that was a joke, and it was probably when there was a textbook that hit the top of her head.</p><p>“That wasn’t funny!  Anyways… So… what happens with us after the project?”  Hermione asked quietly and Pansy shrugged.  In her eyes, the project ending was no need for them to stop talking, after all it was <em> just </em>a piece of homework.</p><p>“Well, if you think you’re getting away from me now, Granger… Then I hate to break it to you, but you’re insane.  You’re my… friend, and I’m not going to stop talking to you just because we don’t have a stupid project connecting us anymore.”  Pansy said with a smirk and Hermione sighed and looked forward, resting her chin on her hand.  Pansy had never noticed what a nice side profile she had, it was damn near perfect.  Which would be irritating if Hermione ever flaunted it, but she didn’t so Pansy really didn’t care.</p><p>“I guess it’ll be a test of if we actually want to be around each other.” Hermione said with a small smile and Pansy chewed on her lip to keep from saying that she always wanted to be around her.  Sounded a bit sudden for this moment, they’d only just restarted their friendship, she wasn’t exactly looking for another reason to blow it up right  now, so she simply nodded.</p><p>“I guess so.”  She said softly, and spent the rest of the hour trying to make sure that the writing meshed well on their essay, trying not to get distracted by how close Hermione insisted on being to her</p><hr/><p>The only part of everything that was still difficult was meal times, Pansy felt exposed like anyone could come up to her and say <em> anything </em>it really wasn’t a pleasant feeling, and it definitely kept her on guard.  She felt someone put their hand on her shoulder and she turned around abruptly, ready to hex them, but it was just Daphne, who chuckled at the intense response.</p><p>“Is this seat taken?”  Daphne asked and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She did this every day, and it was <em> literally </em>there for her.</p><p>“Daphne, you can stop asking that, literally I save that seat for you every single day, so sit down.”  Pansy pointed out and Daphne flashed her a smile as she slid in beside her.</p><p>“How were your classes today?  Any issues?”  Daphne asked and Pansy shook her head.  The check ins were nice, but they felt a little overbearing sometimes when it was <em> everyone </em>who was involved with what happened with her parents.</p><p>“No, none, it was all pretty smooth.  You?”  Pansy asked and Daphne shrugged.  She didn’t normally contribute to this part of their conversation, but Pansy always asked anyways, because she never knew when that would maybe change.</p><p>“Same.”  Daphne said and Pansy nodded, and they were silent.  Pansy looked over at the Gryffindor table and her eyes landed on Hermione, talking and laughing with her friends, and it made Pansy’s heart squeeze because she looked so happy and honestly Pansy loved watching her laugh.  It lit up her whole face, not that she’d ever admit to looking at that.  Could ruin her reputation.</p><p>“Hey… if you stare any harder she’s going to <em> feel </em>it.”  Daphne whispered and Pansy jumped a little, feeling her face get hot.  She didn’t know Daphne was paying her any mind at all, but she caught the smirk on her face. Ugh.</p><p>“What?!  I wasn’t staring, I was just… not paying attention to my surroundings.  Its not fair to make assumptions, you know.”  Pansy said, picking through her food with her fork.  She hated being caught.</p><p>“Right… have you been asked to the Slughorn party?”  Daphne asked and Pansy shook her head.  She honestly didn’t really care about that whole part of it.</p><p>“No?  I haven’t.  Have you?”  She asked and Daphne nodded with excitement.  Oh, here we go.  The second she said it, Pansy regretted asking because now she was going to have to deal with listening to Pansy gush about some mediocre guy who she'll get too attached to and end up heartbroken.</p><p>“Yeah, Blaise asked me-.”  Pansy groaned and covered her face, shaking her head.  Daphne and Blaise were <em> always </em> a bad idea, and Pansy <em> always </em>ended up hearing about it, it was the actual worst.</p><p>“<em> Daph </em>.”  She said, giving Daphne a withering look, but that didn’t deter her from it, she simply shrugged and took another bite of her food.</p><p>“I’m being careful this time.  We’re going as friends.  You know who <em> hasn’t </em>asked anyone yet?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She didn’t particularly care, she’d planned on attending alone.</p><p>“Who?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne jutted her chin in the direction Pansy had been staring.</p><p>“Granger.  She literally turned down about seven different people who tried to get her to go with them.  Reckon she’s waiting for someone special to ask her.”  Daphne said, taking a sip from her cup.  Pansy sighed and shook her head, because she highly doubted that,</p><p>“Or she just wants to go alone.  That is <em> also </em> possible.”  Pansy pointed out, but it was clear Daphne didn’t agree with that when she shook her head.  She wouldn’t know anyways, so why was she acting so smug?</p><p>“Doubt it, she has a plan, always does.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed and stood up, fully ready to walk away from this conversation.  She knew that Daphne had no idea about her feelings for Hermione,  but it was still uncomfortable.</p><p>“Right well… I’m going to head back to the dorms.”  Pansy said, and Daphne was up in a moment.  She can’t get a single moment alone these days, damn.</p><p>“Oh, I’ll walk with you.”  She said and Pansy let out a heavy sigh.  She didn’t need a chaperone to the <em> dorms. </em> She could handle herself, and she thought Daphne knew that.</p><p>“I can-.”  She started and Daphne held up a hand to silence her.  Well, isn’t that rather rude, Pansy thought, easily ignoring the fact that she had done that millions of times before.</p><p>“Pansy, I’m literally going there too.”  Daphne reminded her and Pansy sighed, giving in to her defeat.</p><p>“Right, right.”  Pansy muttered.  They walked in silence most of the way, until they walked right past Hermione which, Pansy found odd because she could’ve sworn she left the great hall first, but she’s learned to essentially not question it.  Daphne smiled in a way that was probably supposed to be pleasant, but honestly looked a little bit evil.</p><p>“Hermione!  What a surprise.”  She said and Hermione stopped and sighed, looking at Daphne with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Yes, Daphne, I attend this school <em> too </em>.  Big shock.”  She said, and Pansy fought to keep her chuckle in.  It made sense that Hermione had a people time limit as well, but it was just funny when the annoyed side came out, it was so unlike her.</p><p>“Ooo, sarcastic.  I <em> love </em> it.  Fits you rather well, if I do say so myself.”  Daphne said with a smirk, and Hermione’s mouth dropped open in disbelief, like what Daphne said was offensive or something.  From what Pansy could <em> gather </em>it wasn’t, but she could never be too sure.</p><p>“It does not-.”  Hermione protested, and Daphne laughed and shook her head.</p><p>“It was a compliment, Granger!  Merlin.  You know what, Pansy?  Why don’t you catch up with me, I’ll meet you down there.”  She said, patting Pansy’s arm and going to leave.  Pansy glared at her and grabbed her arm.</p><p>“Daphne-.”  Pansy started and Daphne cut her off with a shrug, trying to look innocent.  Not an easy task for a Greengrass.</p><p>“I’m tired!”  She called over her shoulder, and disappeared down the corridor.  Pansy shook her head with frustration and huffed.  If they were walking back to the dorms <em> together </em>then leaving her behind was not the right thing to do.</p><p>“Wanker…”  She muttered, and Hermione cleared her throat and flashed Pansy a quick smile.</p><p>“So… how was the rest of your day?  Didn’t see much of you after Herbology.”  Hermione said, and Pansy shrugged.  She didn’t know why the conversation felt so stilted right now, but she blamed Daphne catching her looking <em> and </em>Daphne letting it slip that Hermione still didn’t have a date to the party.</p><p>“Oh it was fine, nothing major happened.  You?”  Pansy asked, chewing on the inside of her cheek.  She felt uneasy, but couldn’t quite tell why.   Hermione shrugged and brushed some hair out of her face.</p><p>“About the same…”  She trailed off, and the conversation simply stopped.  Pansy figured that asking her couldn’t <em> hurt </em>.</p><p>“Hey, this might be totally out of left field here, but I was wondering if you wanted to go to Slughorn's party together… a-as friends of course!”  Pansy said quickly and she saw Hermione's face drop as she chewed on her lip.  Pansy tensed, guessing already it was going to be a no.  But guessing is one thing, knowing is another.</p><p>“Oh Pansy… that's really sweet but I actually have a date already.”  She said quietly and Pansy winced and nodded.  It made sense, Hermione was a very pretty girl with a lot of options, but why had Daphne given her false information?</p><p>“Oh.  Who?”  Pansy asked hollowly, hoping to everything that it wasn’t Ron.  Hermione sighed and ran her hand through her hair.</p><p>“Cormac McLaggen?  He’s one of  the-.”  Pansy cut her off and set her jaw, taking a deep breath.  There was no reason she should take this personally, it's not like she had a shot with Hermione anyways.  She deserves to be happy.</p><p>“I’ve heard the name.  Well, I hope you two have a really good time.”  Pansy said, feeling the pressure behind her eyes that meant she might cry.  Hermione noticed immediately and reached over to rub her arm, which Pansy almost pushed away, but she didn’t do that because honestly, Hermione didn’t do anything.  She didn’t.</p><p>“Pans, you seem upset.”  Hermione said gently and Pansy shook her head and forced a smile.  She just never should’ve asked, this all could’ve been avoided.</p><p>“Hm?  Oh, not at all.  Just a little tired.  I’ll talk to you in the morning, okay?”  She asked, and Hermione didn’t look entirely convinced.  Luckily, she sighed and gave up with a nod, stepping away.</p><p>“... Yeah, okay.  Goodnight, Pans.”  Hermione said, and turned around to walk back to the Gryffindor tower.  Pansy sighed and shook her head.</p><p>“Night ‘Mione.”  She said, realizing she was only talking to herself at that point.  Sometime on the rest of the walk back, the pressure behind her eyes gave way and she felt tears go down her cheeks, but she kept her face neutral.  Can’t say anything to someone if they’re not sad.  When she reached the commons she just wanted to go curl up in bed, but she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“Pansy?  Why are you crying?  Did someone do something I’ll-.”  She cut him off and shook her head with a sigh.</p><p>“No, no one did anything Draco, calm down.  I uh… I actually have a question for you.”  Pansy said.  Draco probably didn’t have a date, he didn’t exactly have a lot of friends.  Perfect.</p><p>“Okay…”  He said cautiously and Pansy cocked her head to the side.</p><p>“Do you have a date… to Slughorn’s party.”  Pansy asked, hating how slowly her voice came out.  Draco raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall</p><p>“No, why?”  Draco asked, and Pansy shrugged.  Why not get turned down twice in one day, it would be a new record for her.  Granted, before today she never really <em> had </em>been turned down, but that didn’t make that thought untrue.</p><p>“Do you want to go with me?  As friends, nothing more.”  Pansy asked, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.  Draco frowned for a moment, obviously thinking about the pros and cons of the situation.</p><p>“I don’t… no, you know what?  Yeah, that’d be… fun.”  He said, and Pansy smiled a little and nodded.  She could have fun with a friend, that was allowed.  No one could tell her she <em> couldn’t </em>because that wouldn’t make much sense.</p><p>“Awesome.  We’ll coordinate colors later, we’ve still got a few weeks.”  Pansy said, rubbing her temples.  The crying had given her a bit of a headache.</p><p>“Right.”  Draco said, and eased back onto the couch.  She looked at her Dorm door and wrinkled her nose,  not exactly wanting to go in there yet.  She didn’t trust herself <em> not </em>to yell at Daphne.</p><p>“Do you mind if I sit with you for a bit, or would that distract you?”  Pansy asked and Draco shrugged, scooting over to make space for her as he flipped a page in his book.</p><p>“Sit down, Parkinson.  It's just as much your common room as it is mine.”  Draco said softly, and Pansy curled up on the edge of the couch he was sitting on, just willing herself to let it go.  It was a <em>stupid </em>crush and there was no reason to let it get in the way of her friendship with Hermione.  She didn’t need to make this so difficult.</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Ignoring obvious signs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After asking Hermione to the party and getting shut down, Pansy decided to just let it go.  It wasn’t like anyone was hurt in that scenario, it was just awkward for both of them.  So when Hermione asked if she wanted to study together in the library, Pansy said yes.  They’d been working for the better part of two hours when Hermione set down her quill and cleared her throat.</p><p>“Are you going to the quidditch game later?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy looked up from her Transfiguration notes and raised an eyebrow.  She hadn’t been planning on it, she’d literally been to <em> one </em>game this year and that was when Potter took a dive.</p><p>“Isn’t it Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor?”  She asked and Hermione nodded, as if that didn’t matter.  Of course it mattered, why would Pansy want to go to a game that her house isn’t even in?  She has no stake in it, no connection.</p><p>“Yeah, why?”  Hermione asked and Pansy sighed and set down her quill, looking Hermione directly in the eyes.</p><p>“Then why would I go to that?  It seems like a waste of time, not to mention I think I’m a bad luck charm for you guys because the last time I was there Potter nearly died.” Pansy pointed out and Hermione chuckled and shook her head, as though she <em> hadn’t </em>been sobbing on the floor when it happened.  Pansy would know that she was, Hermione had gotten her shirt wet with tears</p><p>“Oh please, if I had a finger for everything that has tried to kill Harry in this world I would have several hands.”  Hermione said in a deadpan and Pansy shrugged.  She was right, but she didn’t have to say it.</p><p>“Okay and?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione rested her head on her chin, giving Pansy a look of pleading.</p><p>“Please go, it’ll be fun!”  Hermione said and Pansy fought the urge to roll her eyes again because Hermione was being ridiculous right now.</p><p>“We aren’t even in the same house!  It's not like we can sit together, and I don’t know how I could make it <em> obvious </em>that I’m cheering for Gryffindor-.”  Pansy was cut off before she could finish as Hermione dug through a bag and then popped back up, something in her hand.</p><p>“Take this.”  She said, launching the garment at Pansy's face.  She caught it easily and looked at it with a raised eyebrow.  Hermione had to be kidding, this had to be some kind of weird Gryffindor joke, because no way in hell was she wearing this if she went to the match.</p><p>“Hermione, this is your scarf.  A Gryffindor scarf.  I can’t take this.”  Pansy said, holding it at an arm's length away before setting it between them on the table.  She didn’t feel like getting murdered by her housemates, it was odd but despite everything, she didn’t feel like giving her father the satisfaction of her passing away, even if it <em> was </em>from embarrassment.  He’d like that too much.</p><p>“Exactly.  Don’t act daft, Pansy.  If you wear it, everyone will know who you’re cheering for.”  Hermione explained and obviously Pansy <em> knew </em>that, she wasn’t stupid.  It was just the question of how much she was willing to risk.</p><p>“I could also get eaten alive.”  Pansy said, and Hermione sighed and took the scarf back.</p><p>“I suppose you don’t have to wear it-.”  Pansy was quick to cut her off and reached across the table, pulling the scarf back out of her hands with a scowl.  Did she have to be so damn persuasive without saying anything?  Merlin, it was as if the second she got sad, Pansy was willing to do anything to fix it.  Pathetic.</p><p>“What?  Of course I’m going to wear it, I’ve dealt with a lot worse than my housemates ridiculing me for supporting Gryffindor.”  Pansy spat, wincing to herself at how harsh she sounded, but Hermione didn’t seem to mind.  She reached across the table and touched Pansy’s hand with a smile.</p><p>“You’d do that?”  She asked, and Pansy swallowed heavily and nodded.  Why did Hermione’s hands have to be so warm?</p><p>“Why not?  I have got a friend on the team, and Potter doesn’t <em> completely </em>suck…”  Pansy trailed off and Hermione leaned back and gave her a look.  It wasn’t like there was exactly a wealth of people in Gryffindor who had ever welcomed her with open arms, she didn’t know what Hermione was expecting.</p><p>“Sometimes I really wonder why I want to be around you, you’re always so rude about my friends.”  Hermione mumbled.   Pansy smirked at her, knowing she wasn’t actually mad at Pansy, and leaned her elbows on the table as she responded.</p><p>“Not all of them.  Ginny’s nice.”  She said, and Hermione arched an eyebrow, clearly waiting for more people to be said, but as far as Pansy <em> knew </em>there was no one else to be said right now.  At least not to her.</p><p>“And….”  Hermione trailed off, as if trying to prompt her, but Pansy merely shook her head and leaned back in her chair.</p><p>“No, I was done.”  She said, and Hermione sighed and put her head in her hands.  Pansy found it quite fun sometimes, irritating Hermione, it made their friendship feel more natural.</p><p>“You’re such a wanker!”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy mocked offense and rolled her eyes.  Hermione should at least give her credit for who she <em> did </em> end up saying, two months ago she wouldn’t have said that.</p><p>“I was nice enough to acknowledge that Ginny is nice, doesn’t that count for something?”  Pansy asked in a monotone voice and Hermione sighed and picked her quill back up, leaning back over her parchment before replying.</p><p>“Yes, something very <em> very </em>small.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy nodded.  A little bit is better than nothing she supposed.</p><p>“I’ll take it.”  She said, and Hermione didn’t respond, it was almost as if she was pretending she couldn’t <em> hear </em>Pansy.  She supposed that might make sense if Hermione was sick of her sense of humor in that moment, but it was still a little irritating.  They were silent for a good few minutes until Hermione took a look at her watch and made a small noise of surprise.</p><p>“Is that really the time?  We need to go if we’re gonna make the game.”  Hermione said, and pushed herself away from the table and hauled Pansy to her feet.  Once they got to their stands Pansy steeled herself for the bullying she was about to endure for this.</p><p>“Okay I’ll see you after.”  She said, turning on her heel to walk to the stands.  She felt colder than normally, but she didn’t know why.</p><p>“Pansy!” Hermione called, and Pansy stopped in her tracks.  Had she done something wrong?  Not that she could think of, but it was honestly sometimes difficult to tell.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked, turning around and she was immediately met with Hermione wrapping her scarf around her neck with a small smile.</p><p>“Red and Gold look really good on you.”  She said and Pansy rolled her eyes, trying to ignore that the scarf smelt <em> just </em>like Hermione, and that she had just given Pansy a compliment.  If she just ignored it, she could fly under the radar.</p><p>“Hm, too bad this is the only time you’ll <em> ever </em>see me in it.”  Pansy said with a smirk, and Hermione rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Mhm.”  She said, not sounding convinced.  Pansy rolled her eyes and started walking away from Hermione, not quite turning around yet.</p><p>“I’m serious!  Never doing this again.”  Pansy called, and Hermione shook her head with a small smile on her face, and it made Pansy’s stomach flip.  She’d almost think this was flirting, but that wouldn’t make sense.  She objectively knew that Hermione didn’t feel the same for her, but sometimes friends <em> do </em> flirt.</p><p>“Right… I’ll see you after the game, Parkinson.”  Hermione said, and she turned around to walk to the Gryffindor stands.  Pansy tripped over her feet and nearly fell over, which effectively made her remember that she should start walking <em>forward </em>and not backwards.  She climbed the stairs up to the stands and collapsed next to Daphne, who gave her an odd, knowing look that made Pansy rather uneasy.</p><p>“What are you staring at?”  She asked, and Daphne shrugged, her look only getting more suspicious.  It made Pansy want to <em> literally </em>jump over the side of the stands just to get away from the scrutiny.  To say it was uncomfortable was quickly becoming an understatement.</p><p>“You.”  Daphne said rather softly, like she wasn’t wanting others to overhear.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and chuckled, pulling her coat tighter around her.  She wanted to appear as though she <em>wasn’t </em>noticing how weird Daphne was being right now, but it probably didn’t register that way.</p><p>“And why would that be?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne pointed at the scarf with an arched eyebrow and a knowing smirk.  <em> Merlin </em>it was a wonder that Pansy hadn’t hexed her in all their years of knowing each other, she’s just so smug.</p><p>“That's not your scarf.”  Daphne said, as if that was some kind of unknown news.  ‘No, Daphne, obviously everyone thought that this <em>Gryffindor </em>scarf is mine’  Pansy thought, but she took a deep breath before responding.  Being too defensive could be a sign of hiding something and she didn’t need Daphne going after that right now.</p><p>“What an astute observation, really I don’t know <em> how </em>you’re not first in the year, Daph.”  Pansy said, her voice coming out a little cold as she tried to keep it level.  This didn’t phase Daphne, as she just shoved Pansy’s shoulder lightly and shook her head.</p><p>“Okay, shut up.  Whose scarf is that?”  She asked and Pansy sighed and ran a hand through her hair.  This was <em> exactly </em>why she had told Hermione she shouldn’t wear it, people were going to ask questions.</p><p>“Hermione loaned me one to make it clear that I’m rooting for Gryffindor.”  Pansy mumbled and Daphne snorted, looking like someone who had just won a lottery.  Really, having a friend loan you a scarf means nothing.  Girls share clothes with their friends all the time, how is this any different?  Pansy couldn’t quite tell why <em>this </em>was sitting so differently with Daphne.</p><p>“Hm.  How sweet.”  Daphne said, and Pansy was fed up with that self satisfied look on her face.  It seemed almost mocking.</p><p>“What's that face for?”  Pansy asked, trying to keep the irritation in her voice to a minimum, but she also didn’t appreciate being stared at for no logical reason.  Daphne shrugged and looked forward again, flicking some hair out of her face.</p><p>“Nothing!  Don’t worry about it.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  Sometimes being friends with her was impossible.</p><p>“Okay well… when you’re done being weird, feel free to tell me.”  Pansy mumbled, crossing her arms.  They were silent for the next couple of minutes, until everyone in the Gryffindor stand was on their feet, screaming and cheering so loudly that Pansy <em>considered</em> shoving her wand into her ears so she never had to hear again.</p><p>“-And Harry seems to have spotted the snitch good for him.  Oh!  And Chaser Ginny Weasley scores again for Gryffindor.  She looks quite lovely today, doesn’t she, with her hair fluttering out behind her.  Very elegant.”  Luna said dreamily from the commentary box. Pansy chuckled and shook her head, and was surprised to see Daphne doing a very similar motion.  What could she possibly know about this?</p><p>“That seemed intentionally obvious.”  Daphne snorted and Pansy set her jaw.  She knew Ginny was casually out, but she wasn’t out to <em>everyone </em>and she wasn’t entirely sure if the redhead wanted to keep it that way, but she figured better safe than sorry.</p><p>“Or it was just Luna.  She tends to talk like that.”  Pansy pointed out, but Daphne laughed and shook her head, as though that idea was ridiculous. It wasn’t, it was simply a fact.  People didn’t call Luna Looney for no reason, after all.</p><p>“Sure, she’s <em> odd </em> , but that was obviously her hitting on Ginny, don’t be stupid about it, Parkinson.”  Daphne said and Pansy wanted to hit her.  Not hard, just hard <em> enough </em>that she stopped talking about this because speculation wasn’t exactly a great thing to do right now.  They were here for sports, after all.</p><p>“I’m not being stupid about it, I’m just saying-.”  Pansy started, but Daphne held up a hand to silence her and sighed.</p><p>“You just don’t want to admit that I’m right.”  Daphne said, sounding a little smug.  ‘No, I just don’t want to talk about my friend’s sexuality right now.  Look what doing that did to me.’  Pansy thought, but she decided against saying it.</p><p>“Whatever, Daph.  Whatever you want to believe.”  Pansy muttered, and Daphne opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the entire pitch roaring with cheers.</p><p>“-And Harry gets the snitch!  That's a win for Gryffindor, great job everyone.”  Luna said, and the stands next to them erupted in cheers.  She was glad this was a short match, honestly it was kind of cold. Pansy puffed her cheeks out for a moment before breathing out and looking at Daphne.</p><p>“That was a really quick match, huh?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shook her head and gave her a look.  Pansy had no idea what that was supposed to mean, because that was Daphne’s ‘are you stupid’ look, and to her knowledge, she hadn’t said anything stupid.</p><p>“To be fair, you were late.  Ravenclaw was actually in the lead for a bit, and you missed it.”  Daphne informed her.  Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, giving Daphne a look.  One, quidditch wasn’t her thing, two, she had been coerced into coming in the first place.</p><p>“I was studying, you know that thing we’re supposed to do because this is a place of <em> learning </em>.”  Pansy said, and Daphne made a face, shaking her head at the mere thought of that.  It wasn’t a lie, it was why they were there.</p><p>“You’ve been spending too much time with Hermione if you’d rather be studying instead of hanging out with people and doing something fun.”  Daphne said, the disgust clear in her voice.  Pansy shoved her shoulder and scowled.</p><p>“Hey!  I could use her rubbing off on me a bit.  I could use that level of intelligence.  Now, speaking of Hermione, I should really give her scarf back.”  Pansy said, and Daphne sighed and gave a quick nod as they continued down the stairs of the stands.</p><p>“I’ll catch up with you in the common room.” Daphne said, and Pansy nodded.  That was what she thought would happen, it would be awkward if Daphne was just sticking with her right now, either standing silently <em> or </em>giving dialogue, both sounded bad.</p><p>“Got it.”  Pansy said, and with that they split ways, and Pansy went looking for Hermione.  She didn’t have to look very hard, she found her right where they had stopped earlier, waiting patiently.</p><p>“Pansy!  What’d you think of the match?”  Hermione asked, smiling rather brightly as the rest of her house shuffled down the stairs, making a bit of a commotion from their victory.  Pansy sighed and shrugged, her hands buried deep in her pockets.</p><p>“Potter played well… Luna’s commentary was… interesting.”  She said, and Hermione chuckled and shrugged at this statement.</p><p>“Well, she <em> is </em>rather eccentric, to expect a commentary that was not odd would be expecting something that just won’t occur.”  Hermione explained, and then the two fell silent for a moment, and the energy between them just felt… awkward, and Pansy desperately wanted it to dissipate, and she knew the easiest way for that to happen was to do an action. </p><p>“Right, right.  Well, here's your scarf-.”  Pansy tried, but Hermione cut her off and shook her head.</p><p>“No, no.  Keep it.”  Hermione said, wrapping it back around Pansy’s neck.  Pansy raised her eyebrow and sighed because this was <em> not </em>the agreement they had come to in the library, not even close.</p><p>“Um.  Why would I need to do that, I have plenty of my <em> own </em>scarves in my own house colors…”  Pansy tried, going to take the scarf off, but Hermione caught her hands and shook her head, pushing them back to Pansy’s sides but not letting go.  </p><p>“Yeah, but I figured you may need a Gryffindor one.  You know, for the next time I ask you to come to a game?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy raised her brows as the other girl released the grip on her hands.</p><p>“Did I not say that this would be my only time wearing a Gryffindor scarf?”  Pansy asked and Hermione nodded, still looking a little bit smug.</p><p>“See, you did say that… but somehow I just don’t think that’s the case.”  Hermione said, a knowing smile coming across her face as she started to walk away.  Just what the hell was that even supposed to mean?!</p><p>“Hermione!”  Pansy called, but the girl didn’t stop walking away from her, but Pansy did see the telltale slight shake of her shoulders that meant she was laughing.  Ugh.</p><p>“Keep track of it!  I’m serious!”  Hermione called over her shoulder and Pansy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath before walking back to the castle.  It was easy to ignore the looks from most people, she’d become accustomed to that after both the letter <em>and </em>the howler, but the look she got from Ginny, which registered as a sort of teasing smugness, an ‘I knew it’ type of energy, that was enough to make her skin crawl.  It made her wonder how many people could see it, and if she really sucked <em>so </em>badly at hiding how she felt.</p><hr/><p>If Pansy would have known that taking NEWT level transfiguration meant always almost being late to Charms class, she would have reevaluated her schedule, but at the time it didn’t seem like a problem.  Now, however, she was getting to class about 30 seconds before it started, and having to endure a look she could feel from a mile away by Hermione.  She collapsed into one of the two empty seats, and glanced over to see who she was next to and immediately wanted to kick herself for not checking who was sitting in the seat.  Ron.  No.  She was not going to spend a whole class sitting next to Ronald Billius Weasley.  She stood up to move seats, but saw that the last one that was empty had gotten filled, and she sighed and collapsed back into her chair.</p><p>“You couldn’t have been… say… 10 seconds later?”  Ron spat and Pansy rolled her eyes and sat up a little more to give him a level glare.  She wasn’t in the mood for his attempt at having an attitude, it was just pathetic.</p><p>“Shove off, Weasley.  I don’t like this arrangement anymore than you do, but it's just for one day so <em> suck it up </em>.”  Pansy hissed, and Ron opened his mouth to respond, but was effectively stopped by the Professor standing up to start class.  It was rather mundane, a day of almost entirely notes and it was passing fine until Pansy saw Ron mix up the definition of a cleaning charm and a gouging spell.  Considering that could possibly be dangerous, Pansy decided to intervene.</p><p>“Weasley.  Hey.  <em> Weasley </em> .”  She hissed, and he slammed his quill down and looked over at her with a scowl.  Merlin, why was she helping him?  Maybe she should <em> let </em>him dig a hole through his common room the next time he spills something on his robe.</p><p>“Oh bloody hell.  What?!”  Ron snapped and Pansy raised an eyebrow, leaning a little closer to him.</p><p>“You wrote down the wrong definition just… here.”  She whispered, passing her notes over, and he paused, obviously not expecting this to be the reason she was talking to him.  He took a moment and cleared his throat.</p><p>“Oh… uh… right.” He said quietly, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  It seemed, to her, like Ron was surprised that she was paying attention.  A little rude if she had anything to say about it.</p><p>“What?  I’m smart enough, yeah?  Just take down the definition and give me my notes back, I haven’t got all day.” Pansy snapped quietly, and Ron copied the notes and paused.</p><p>“Um…”  Ron looked like he was struggling to get out an actual thank you, like it went against everything he ever wanted to say to Pansy.  It probably did.</p><p>“No need to thank me, Weasley.  Just pay closer attention, yeah?” Pansy mumbled and Ron looked forward again, chewing on the edge of his quill</p><p>“Whatever.”  He muttered and Pansy sighed.  The rest of the class passed uneventfully, but Pansy still booked it out of there the second she could when class was over, and caught up to Hermione, who smiled quick, and then trained her eyes forward again.</p><p>“You seemed to deal with being stuck next to Ron fairly well.”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed and shrugged.  While it wasn’t <em> terrible </em>it was something that Pansy never ever wanted to repeat again.</p><p>“Yeah, well I can’t commit a murder in class.”  She said calmly and Hermione gave her a knowing smile and nudged her in the ribs</p><p>“I saw you give him your notes.  That was sweet of you.”  Hermione said softly, and Pansy felt her face get warm.  This is what she gets for making an effort.</p><p>“He had the wrong definition!  The boy doesn’t need help <em> failing </em>his class, I thought I’d offer my wealth of knowledge for a moment.”  Pansy said, her tone coming out rather defensive, which amused Hermione.  She sighed and shook her head, looping an arm through Pansy’s as they walked down the hallway.</p><p>“He often has the wrong definition.  It just happens.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy didn’t doubt that for a moment.  He seemed like he got distracted easily, it must make taking notes a bit of a task.</p><p>“Yeah, well… I figured I could be of assistance in that moment, so I took the opportunity, you know?”  Pansy asked and Hermione nodded.  Pansy had the distinct feeling she wouldn’t be able to live down being nice to the one person she’s been hellbent on hating.</p><p>“I get it, yeah.  Just surprised that you <em> did </em>it.”  Hermione said, and Pansy did not appreciate the infliction on the ‘you.’ It made it sound like her being nice was impossible.</p><p>“Are you saying I lack the moral fibre to be a good person?”  Pansy asked in a cool tone and Hermione flashed her a quick smile</p><p>“Only sometimes, Parkinson.” She joked and Pansy rolled her eyes.  How was <em> she </em>seen as the rude one, honestly?</p><p>“I resent that comment, Granger.”  Pansy responded, but she couldn’t fight the small smile on her face as they turned down the corridor to the library.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Slughorn Party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The plan of going to Slughorn’s party with Draco is <em> not </em> one that is meant to make Hermione jealous.  Its not.  It’s simply two friends hanging out, and if she so <em> happens </em> to be jealous, then that means Pansy knows a little bit more about the situation.  If she isn’t, that's fine too.  She knew she looked hot because, obviously she wasn’t blind and she had enough objective thought to realize that, plus it helped that Draco had picked green for her dress (He hadn’t <em> really </em> picked green, he told her he was wearing black, so she really had free reign, but it sounded better if he said that he did, less like she was house-obsessive.), and she’d settled on one that was green with some black accents that fit her undertones nicely.  She’d ended up spending a <em> painstakingly </em>long time getting ready, because why not?  When life presents an opportunity to impress, why not take it?  But she only realized she’d taken too long when Daphne’s hairbrush was launched by her head.</p><p>“Parkinson, if you’re not ready in the next five minutes I swear to Merlin that I am leaving this dorm without you <em> and </em> I won’t talk to you all night.”  Daphne called from where she was lounging on her bed, completely ready.  How she did that so fast, Pansy will never understand, but that <em> doesn’t </em>mean she gets to rush it.</p><p>“That's fine, Daph I don’t need you.  Tracey’ll talk to me, right, Trace?”  Pansy asked, and the other girl snorted, looking up from her potions textbook.  Well, that didn’t sound very promising.</p><p>“Absolutely not, you’re making <em> both </em>Daphne and I late, hurry the fuck up.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and closed up her makeup, turning to the two girls with hands raised in surrender.  She had wanted to do more, but it wasn’t worth the fight.</p><p>“Fine, fine, but might I remind you that you can't rush perfection… a rule you two clearly forgot.”  Pansy said, wrinkling her nose in fake disgust.  She was, of course, kidding.  They both looked stunning, and Pansy expected nothing else but apparently her joke didn’t come across as very funny when Tracey’s potions textbook flew past her head and hit the wall.</p><p>“Oi!”  Tracey yelled and Pansy rolled her eyes and stood up, checking her makeup once more before turning around and smoothing her dress down.  They really took stuff too seriously sometimes, damn.</p><p>“I was <em> kidding </em>.  Lets go, I’m ready.”  She muttered, and started out of the dorm, holding the door open for the other two to walk out. Daphne gave her a glare as she tucked her hair behind her ear.</p><p>“Took you long enough.”  Daphne murmured and Pansy gave her a look and huffed as they walked around the corner.</p><p>“Oh shut up, I will hex you right in the-Draco!  Blaise!  Hey!”  Pansy said, plastering a fake smile on her face.  Blaise stood up and clasped his hands together, running his gaze up Pansy’s body, which made her want to throw up, before turning his attention to Daphne, his grin getting <em> far </em>more smarmy.</p><p>“Well, don’t you two ladies look lovely tonight…”  Blaise said, his voice coming out slimy.  Pansy shuddered and rolled her eyes when she saw his gaze stop at Daphne’s chest.  That’s just… there's no need for that when there are other people around.</p><p>“Her eyes are up here, Zabini.  I got my eye on you…  Ready, Draco?”  Pansy asked, holding out her elbow, which Draco was quick to slip his arm through with a small smile.  He looked nice, Pansy could admit that.</p><p>“Absolutely, lets go.  Tracey are you-.”  Tracey shook her head and cut Draco off.</p><p>“Oh, I’m meeting my date there.”  She explained, and Draco gave her a quick nod as they all exited the common room and started their walk to the party.  Pansy could tell that neither Daphne nor Tracey really trusted that Draco had changed, and she didn’t blame him.  He had his work cut out for him.</p><p>“Got it.  Just wanted to make sure we weren’t leaving someone behind.”  Draco confirmed and Pansy could feel Daphne’s apprehension and she couldn’t say that she blamed her.</p><p>“That's uncharacteristically thoughtful of you, Malfoy.”  Tracey said carefully, and Draco rolled his eyes and sighed, clearly wanting to snap a little bit.  It wasn’t his fault, after all it was in his nature to be a little rude.</p><p>“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, shut up.”  He said, and Tracey smirked and shook her head, walking a little bit behind the two couples.</p><p>“Buy my silence.”  She muttered, and Draco let out a laugh and shook his head.  It was nice, Pansy thought, seeing him around friends.</p><p>“Something tells me that there’s not enough money in the <em> world </em>for that to happen.” Draco snorted and Tracey sighed.</p><p>“Merlin, why are we talking to you again?”  She asked, and Pansy looked back at her and set her jaw.  She didn’t know why she felt so defensive of Draco right now, but it's probably because he was willing to come here with her. Not a lot of guys would be, or girls for that matter.</p><p>“Because he apologized, now shush, we’re almost there.”  Pansy hissed, trying to sound intimidating and like she was in charge.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head, looking around Blaise.</p><p>“It's not like we’re breaking in, we’re <em>allowed </em>to talk.”  Daphne snickered, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.</p><p>“Right, I know that.  But that doesn’t mean mindless babble is needed.” Pansy snapped, and looked forward again.  She heard Blaise let out a small chuckle and she shot a glare over at him.</p><p>“Wow, you’re on edge, Parkinson.  You need to relax-.”  She cut Blaise off and set her jaw.</p><p>“Tell me to relax ever again, Blaise and I will shove my wand so far up your-.”  Daphne cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow at her.</p><p>“<em> Pansy. </em>  Manners.”  Daphne hissed, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Honestly, she has every reason to get annoyed by Blaise, Daphne had spent far too many nights up crying about him, which incidentally kept Pansy up too.</p><p>“... Right.”  Pansy grumbled, letting it go only for Daphne's sake as they walked into the party, Daphne and Blaise immediately splitting off and Tracey going to find her date.  After a moment, Draco cleared his throat and looked over at Pansy.</p><p>“I’m going to get something to drink, do you want anything?”  He asked, and Pansy nodded. She could use a drink.</p><p>“One of whatever you’re having, thanks.”  Pansy said, and Draco nodded.  She honestly hoped that he was getting firewhiskey, because that might be the only way to get through this night.</p><p>“Absolutely.” He said, and he walked off to find the drinks, leaving Pansy alone on the wall.  She figured she should just... observe who is here.  She couldn't spot Hermione, but she saw that Potter was here with Luna, and she stifled a laugh, because thats an odd combination.  She knew they were friends, but still.</p><p>“Pansy!”  She turned around and saw Hermione smiling at her.  She looked... stunning.  Pansy could feel her heart speed up a little bit as she took a deep breath.</p><p>“‘Mione, hello.  You look… incredible.”  Pansy breathed, trying to look like that <em>hadn't </em>made her heart skip a beat a slightly.</p><p>“I was going to say the same to you.  That dress is… it's really nice.”  Hermione said, and her face looked a little flushed.  It must be warm in here for her, thats all Pansy could think.  She knew Hermione was always warmer than her, so it wouldn't be surprising.</p><p>“Thank you.  Where’s your date?  I’d love to meet the oaf.”  Pansy asked cooly, and Hermione grimaced and shook her head at that sentence.</p><p>“I’m <em> actively </em> attempting to avoid him right now, he seems to be under the impression that it's an actual date.”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Well, <em>that </em>was a surprising detail that she had forgotten to ask about.</p><p>“Is it not?”  Pansy asked and Hermione shook her head quickly, as if the thought of that sentence was going to make her sick.</p><p>“No I just-.”  Hermione was cut off by someone clearing their throat, and Pansy saw her eyes cloud for a moment.</p><p>“Here, Pansy.”  Draco said, and Pansy looked over and smiled as she took her drink from his hand.</p><p>“Oh thank you.  Anyways, you were saying?”  Pansy asked, giving her attention back to Hermione, whose face had entirely dropped.  What the hell was that all about.</p><p>“You came here… with Draco?”  Hermione asked quietly and Pansy nodded.  Why did that matter?</p><p>“Yeah, we’re friends, I’m not seeing the problem here.”  Pansy said with an arched eyebrow.  Hermione cleared her throat and crossed her arms.</p><p>“No, no problem, I’m just a little surprised.  Didn’t realize you two were close again.”  Hermione said icily, and Pansy had to laugh because <em> that </em>was a blatant lie.  Of course Hermione knew that.  Draco cleared his throat and took another sip of his drink before speaking.</p><p>“Yes you did, Granger.  Pansy and I literally hang out all the time… plus she’s only here with me because someone else turned her down.”  He said, and Hermione narrowed her eyes and sighed, crossing her arms.</p><p>“Hm.  Who?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy wanted to scream 'you', but the way Draco had said it made it very clear that whoever had turned Pansy down was someone that Pansy liked.  If she was silent, maybe Hermione would just think someone else had turned her down as well.</p><p>“She didn’t tell me but just… get off her back, yeah?  You can’t act okay with her and I being friends on paper and then get pissy when it's brought into practice.  If everyone else can change, give me a chance too.”  Draco said, the glare settling on his face.  Pansy cleared her throat and clasped her hands together.</p><p>“Anyways!  Hermione.  What were you saying about your date?”  Pansy asked, really just wanting the tension to disperse.  Hermione blinked, as if she'd forgotten what she was going to say.  Pansy knew, objectively that Hermione had not forgotten, it wasn't in her nature.</p><p>“Oh.  Right.  He keeps trying to move really fast, and I’m not even <em> interested </em>in him, I just invited him because I…. Um… you know what?  Never mind.”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and turned fully toward her.</p><p>“No, you what?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair, chewing on her lip.  It was like she was scared of what she wanted to say.  Pansy really couldn't imagine a world where Granger was scared of very much, it was just an observation.</p><p>“Because I needed a date and I thought Harry and I might go as friends, but he was already taking someone.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy heard Draco choke on his drink next to her, and she reached around him and pounded on his back.</p><p>“Potter’s here?  With who?!”  Draco rasped and Hermione looked confused.</p><p>“Luna Lovegood… why do you care?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy noted how his cheeks got slightly pink and he refused to meet anyone's gaze.  She'd always wondered... but no, she couldn't ask him that. </p><p>“I-I don’t!  I was just surprised because I knew he was hung up on the Girl Weasley but nothing ever happened with it.  I don’t <em> care </em>, it was just surprising.”  He said, too quickly for someone who had no stake in it, Pansy knew that.  Hermione must've thought so too because she raised her eyebrow and looked like she also didn't believe him.</p><p>“Right… well, I’ll let you two enjoy your night.” Hermione sighed and she went to leave but Pansy caught her arm before she could.</p><p>“Hermione, wait-.”  Hermione shook her head, and flashed Pansy a smile that didn't reach her eyes.</p><p>“No, I should go find Cormac.  I’ll talk to you later, alright?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy paused for a moment before letting her go and nodding.</p><p>“... Yeah.  Okay.”  Pansy mumbled, watching her form walk away from her.  Draco cleared her throat and sighed.</p><p>“Well.  That was… tense.  Want to dance, Parkinson?”  Draco asked, and he held out her hand to him.  She really wanted to say no and just brood, but that wouldn't be healthy.</p><p>“No I-.  Actually?  Sure, why not.”  She said, and took Draco's hand and let him lead her to the dance floor.  After a few minutes he chuckled at her and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What could he possibly be laughing at?</p><p>“You always were lousy at following.”  Draco murmured, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.  He's such an ass.</p><p>“Oh shut up, at least I’m not stepping on your feet like I was at the Yule.  Now <em> that </em>was embarrassing.”  Pansy said, wincing at the memory.  Merlin, that felt like it had happened forever ago.</p><p>“You were starstruck by her then too, you know.”  Draco murmured and Pansy’s eyes shot open and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Who are you talking about, Dray?”  Pansy asked, feeling a little nervous.  How was he seeing through everything?  They’d barely started talking again, that shouldn’t be allowed.</p><p>“Granger.  When she made her whole Princess transformation.  I looked to you, expecting some sort of mocking to come out of your mouth, but you were just… in total awe.  And you were blushing <em> so </em> much.  That's when I first got the inkling that <em> maybe </em> you weren’t into gentlemen.”  Draco said, with a small smile, and Pansy freaked out for a moment until she met his eyes and saw he was looking at her with a warm understanding.  <em> Not </em>a look she normally got from Draco, even when they were close before.</p><p>“Oh.”  She said, her voice coming out so small that she hated it.  Draco nodded and sighed, looking over her shoulder.  Who the hell was he looking at?</p><p>“Mhm.  You know… I never meant to hurt you, Pansy.  I really didn’t <em> want </em> to, but I had to… you know what it's like for me.”  Draco said, and Pansy sighed.  She understood that his father sucked <em>so </em>damn much, but that doesn't mean he had to drag her down.</p><p>“Right, but there were <em> far </em>better ways to go about that, okay?”  She asked, and he nodded, still refusing to meet her eyes.</p><p>“I know.  And I’m sorry.”  He whispered, and the words sounded so much smoother than the last time he said that, she was almost a little bit proud.</p><p>“Thank you for the <em> actual </em>apology, Dray.  I’m over it, but I can’t let it go quite yet.”  Pansy said, and he nodded</p><p>“I completely understand that.  But… thanks for giving me another chance… as friends of course.”  Draco said quietly and Pansy nodded.  Second chances are something Pansy doesn't do a lot of, mostly because you</p><p>“Yeah.”  Pansy said, and when they got off the dance floor, someone grabbed Draco, and he got pulled into a conversation, leaving Pansy alone.  She didn't really mind, it was finally a little more quiet.  Her alone time wasn't something that lasted long, because about three minutes later she felt an arm sling around her shoulder.</p><p>“Having a nice time?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy nodded as she leaned against the wall.</p><p>“It's alright I suppose.  How about you?  Where’s Blaise?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shrugged and crossed her arms.</p><p>“Talking to some of his friends, I didn’t want to intrude.”  She said, and Pansy felt her anger rising at that.  This was <em> exactly </em>why she’d warned Daphne against going with him, it never ends well.</p><p>“He’s here with you he should be-.”  Daphne quieted her with a sigh and a shake of her head.</p><p>“Pansy.  Don’t intrude.”  Daphne warned, and Pansy let out a long breath.  She wasn't trying to <em>intrude</em>, she was trying to protect her friend.</p><p>“Right, I know.”  Pansy grumbled, and Daphne didn't respond.  When she looked over, she saw the other girl looked very confused, maybe even concerned.</p><p>“Hey, where’s Granger going?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy looked over to where the other girl was focused and she saw Hermione storming out of the party, fists clenched at her side.  She knew it wasn't going well for her, but something bad must've <em>really </em>happened at this point.</p><p>“I have no idea… but she looks upset.”  Pansy observed.  Daphne sighed and put a hand on Pansy's shoulder, like she was going to direct her in some way.  Objectively she probably wasn't going to.</p><p>“You should go check on her.”  She whispered and Pansy gave her a look.  It was clear Hermione was a little irritated with her tonight for whatever reason, and she really didn't want to deal with that.</p><p>“But I-.”  Daphne gave her a look and cut her off.</p><p><em> “Go </em>.”  Daphne insisted and Pansy sighed and threw her hands up in frustration.  Why did she have to be the one to do it?  Hermione had other friends.</p><p>“Merlin!  Fine.”  Pansy hissed and walked briskly towards the door, dodging around Draco, who looked at her and opened his mouth, probably to question what was going on, but Pansy raised her finger and pressed it to her lips.  He got the memo and leaned back against the wall.</p><p>“Who’s there?”  She heard Hermione call out, and Pansy's chest hurt when she heard how thick her voice was with emotions.  She wanted to just hug her, and hold her close like she had that day in the hallway, but it felt like something she shouldn't do.</p><p>“‘Mione?  Are you alright?”  Pansy called out in a whisper, and Hermione rested her head against her knees.</p><p>“I’m fine.”  Hermione sniffled and Pansy sighed and came a little bit closer, though still not entirely sure if Hermione even wanted her help.</p><p>“You’re <em> crying </em>.  That's a pretty far cry from fine, love.” Pansy said quietly and Hermione sighed and put her head in her hands.  It hurt, seeing Hermione like this.</p><p>“It’s just been a shitty night.” Hermione mumbled, and Pansy nodded.  She was able to gather that much from how Hermione was crying and curled up on the stairs.</p><p>“I know.”  Pansy said softly, leaning against the wall.  Hermione did give her a little bit of a glare, and she couldn’t understand why she was mad.</p><p>“What are you doing out here?  Won’t <em> Malfoy </em> get mad?”  Hermione spat and Pansy flinched away.  Oh.  Thats why.  She didn’t know what she’d done to earn Hermione’s anger, she was here with a friend, <em> Hermione </em>was the one who asked a real date.</p><p>“It's not like we’re here on a date.  We’re here as friends, and he did fully apologize now, so we’re working on actually talking.” Pansy said, and Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, resting her chin on her hand.</p><p>“Your parents should be ecstatic.”  She said in a monotone voice, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sat down beside her on the stairs.</p><p>“They officially disowned me, there's no going back from that.  Even if there <em> legally </em> is, I don’t want to.” Pansy explained, and the fight went out of Hermione’s shoulders, there wasn’t much to begin with right now, she’s <em> crying </em>.</p><p>“Then why come with him?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  Who else was she going to come with?  Daphne had Blaise, Tracey had some Ravenclaw boy, she was the only one without a date and she wasn’t going to have that happen.</p><p>“It's not like I had any other options.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione chewed on her lip and looked away.  Pansy hadn’t intended on that coming off so harshly, but she knew that it had.</p><p>“Pansy-.”  Pansy interrupted her.  She didn’t have to apologize, that's not what was going on here.  Pansy was trying to comfort <em> Hermione </em>, not the other way around.</p><p>“No, it's fine.”  Pansy said quickly, and Hermione sighed and took her hand, scooting a little closer to her so she could rest her head on Pansy’s shoulder.  This simple action should <em> not </em>have been enough to cause Pansy’s heart to pound, but it was.</p><p>“I wish you’d asked me first.”  Hermione mumbled and Pansy chuckled in disbelief.  Well that can’t be true, why would someone willingly go to the party with someone like Pansy?  Sure, Draco had said yes but they were too sides of the same coin.  Hermione… she was too good for that.</p><p>“Really?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded against her shoulder and sighed, picking her head up so she could wipe her eyes.</p><p>“Yeah, I certainly wouldn’t be crying in the hallway from having an awful date.”  She said bitterly and Pansy nudged her shoulder gently, just wanting to see her smile because she couldn’t help but feel like somehow she was the cause of this.  It was ridiculous to think that, Pansy knew, but that didn’t stop the thought from taking its route.</p><p>“But you’d have to deal with me all night, and I can be quite a handful.”  Pansy said in a joking tone and Hermione did flash her a small smile as she let out a shaky sigh.  Pansy thought at that moment that she may just kill Cormac, if he was the cause of this.</p><p>“Oh I know, but I think I could handle that.  You’re… I just really like being around you.”  Hermione said, and Pansy’s heart fluttered at that.  Hermione <em> liked </em>being around her?  She wasn’t sure that she would ever recover from hearing that.</p><p>“I like being around you too.”  Pansy said softly, and Hermione shook her head before looking over at her.</p><p>“Is that so?”  Hermione asked, her smile widening.  That's when Pansy realized she A. would never hear the end of that, and B. Might have let on more than intended.   She shoved Hermione’s shoulder lightly and shook her head, trying to dispel any nervous energy that she was exhibiting.</p><p>“Mhm.  Don’t make a big deal out of it.”  Pansy said with a laugh, and Hermione joined in with a small chuckle before there was a thick silence between them.  It made Pansy uneasy, but she decided that working through it would be the best idea, instead of just walking away.</p><p>“Pansy?”  Hermione asked quietly, and Pansy looked over at her, feeling like her throat was bone dry.  She looked at the other witch and saw something in her eyes she couldn’t quite decipher, but she’d never really seen that look before.</p><p>“Yeah?”  She asked and Hermione swallowed and gave her a small smile.  Pansy couldn’t handle the eye contact, so she looked away.  She didn’t want to end up doing something she’d regret… or Hermione would regret, Pansy doubted that she herself would regret it.</p><p>“You’re… makeup looks really good up close.”  Hermione muttered, and Pansy felt her cheeks get hot as she smiled, working up the courage to look Hermione in the eyes.  She felt like her heart was going to pound right out of her chest.</p><p>“That's an odd compliment.”  Pansy laughed, and Hermione nodded, but stayed quiet as she reached over and placed a hand on Pansy’s cheek, rubbing her thumb across it.  Pansy shivered and her eyes fluttered shut as Hermione leaned closer to her.  She really thought that Hermione was about to kiss her, but before anything could happen, they both heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and both opened their eyes, freezing in place.</p><p>“‘Mione?!  You out here?”  Pansy heard a guy whisper, and Hermione sighed and dropped her hand, pinching the bridge of her nose, leaving Pansy confused, wondering if that <em> actually </em>just almost happened.</p><p>“... Shit.  That’s Harry, he’s been helping me dodge Cormac.”  Hermione groaned, and Pansy cleared her throat, desperate to clear away whatever the <em> hell </em> just almost happened and get on with her night.  That solidified for a fact that she <em> did </em>like Hermione though, possibly almost kissing her.</p><p>“You should go talk to him.”  Pansy said in a rushed tone, and Hermione nodded, pushing herself to her feet as Pansy did the same.</p><p>“You should go back to your date.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy <em> really </em>didn’t want to, she wanted to talk to Hermione about what had just happened, but she could tell that Hermione didn’t want to talk about it.</p><p>“Right.  I’ll talk to you later, ‘Mione.” Pansy said, trying to keep her voice steady, but she knew it didn't work.</p><p>“Mhm, of course.” Hermione said, and she walked over and rested her head against Potter's chest.  It made Pansy's heart ache, that that wasn't her.  Pansy strode by them quickly and went back into the party, scanning until she found Draco.</p><p>“Why do you look like you’re going to pass out?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.  He was clearly actually concerned, but Pansy couldn't figure out how to say it.  She'd already known it, but <em>saying </em>it out loud made it all feel too real.  Pansy looked over at him and chewed on her lip.</p><p>“Draco?”  Pansy asked and he looked at her, his eyes patient, like he was ready to listen.  But she didn't know if she was ready to speak.</p><p>“Yeah?”  He asked and she sighed, not being able to say the words still.  Stall.  She would stall.</p><p>“If I tell you something, can you keep a secret?”  She asked and he chuckled quietly.</p><p>“I mean, contrary to what I did to you this year, yes I can.”  Draco said with a nod and Pansy sighed and cleared her throat, trying to not have her voice shake, but it was inevitable that it would.</p><p>“I think I might like her.”  Pansy muttered, and Draco was silent for a moment, and Pansy got nervous.  She knew he wouldn't be mad because he <em>literally </em>brought it up earlier.</p><p>“You think?”  Draco said with a smirk, and Pansy pushed him gently.  Could he not see that admitting this was <em>freaking </em>her out?</p><p>“Shut up.”  She said, her voice coming out a little higher than expected.  Draco sighed and pulled her into a soft hug.  Pansy froze up for a moment before wrapping her arms around him.  Now granted, she did consider holding her breath because <em>seriously </em>did no one teach him how to apply cologne <em>normally?</em></p><p>“Hey… it’ll be alright.”  He whispered, running his hand up and down her back.  She wanted to ask how he knew, and if he was sure, but she decided against it.</p><p>“Let's hope so.”  Pansy muttered against his chest, and closed her eyes, wanting to disappear from the room.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Important invitation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry if this one is a little shorter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Discomfort is not something that Pansy loves sitting in, she’s pretty sure that's the case with most people but she can’t be entirely sure.  So, knowing that, it makes sense that she’s <em> actively </em> avoiding Hermione ever since the Slughorn party, because she doesn’t know if Hermione will want to talk about what almost maybe may have happened and she just didn’t want to do that.  After all, it had only been a couple of days, so there was really no reason for them trying to talk.  She should just let it blow over, honestly.  Now, this plan was going <em> terrifically </em> until potions, because of course the only seat that was left open was <em> next </em>to Hermione.  Oh, great.  She sighed and walked over, prompting Hermione to look up at her in surprise.</p><p>“Hey… is it okay if I sit here?”   Pansy asked quietly, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.  Pansy knew the question itself was ridiculous in theory, if Hermione didn’t want her sitting there she would’ve had someone else already in the seat.  But it was still polite to ask, after the whole ‘I’m going to avoid you forever’ thing.</p><p>“Why wouldn’t it be?  You normally sit in that seat, I mean except for recently because you’ve been avoiding me.” Hermione mumbled and Pansy sighed.  This was exactly why she <em> had </em>been avoiding Hermione.  The confrontation.</p><p>“I have not been-.”  Pansy started, and Hermione gave her a knowing look.  Yeah, okay Pansy had earned that one.</p><p>“<em> Pansy </em> .  You literally cannot patronize me about this. It won't work.  I’ve been trying to talk to you for five days and you’ve been avoiding me by <em> literally </em> walking the other way.”  Hermione said, her voice deadpan.  All of that was true, Pansy knew that, but that didn’t mean that Hermione had to <em> say </em>it.</p><p>“You’re right.  I’m sorry.”  Pansy said and Hermione nodded, looking over at her.  She knew Hermione wasn't mad, she'd known that upon seeing her.  She was just hurt by Pansy's actions which is a fair reaction.</p><p>“It's fine, just… I don’t get why?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed, bouncing her leg up and down.  She didn't know if she should actually talk about it, or just ignore that it happened.  But she knew that if she didn't say it it was just going to fester and make everything far worse than it currently was.</p><p>“Outside the party, we almost-.”  Hermione was quick to cut her off and grimace a little bit.  Oh.  Okay.</p><p>“I know, I’m sorry about that.  I was so stressed out, and in a bad place because of the whole… Cormac of everything.  I shouldn’t have tried to do that."  She said in an apologetic tone.  Well that cleared exactly nothing up.</p><p>“No, it's okay I was just wondering if you-.”  Hermione cut her off by holding her hand up to stop the talking.  She looked… embarrassed.  Whether she was embarrassed about Pansy or something else, she’d never know.</p><p>“Let's just forget it happened, okay?  It's making our friendship become something that isn’t easy, so… we can just pretend it wasn’t a thing?”  Hermione asked and Pansy felt like the wind was taken right out of her.  Obviously she wasn’t <em> expecting </em>Hermione to have feelings for her, but forgetting about it was going to be a heavy task.</p><p>“Oh… alright… um… yeah.  If that's what you want.”  Pansy stammered and Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly a little irritated still at Pansy.  That did make sense, it had been a <em> multiple </em>day occurrence.</p><p>“I just want my friend to not be avoiding me all the time.”  She said through clenched teeth and Pansy let out a long breath and nodded.</p><p>“Right.  Sorry.”  Pansy muttered and Hermione sighed and set her quill down, looking over at Pansy.</p><p>“Don’t apologize, just stop pretending like uncomfortable things are the end of the world.  We’re friends, Pans.  It’s not like everything is going to always run smoothly between us, as we’ve already encountered.”  Hermione explained and Pansy chuckled a little bit.  They’d only been friends for two months and already had an explosive splitting of ways, of course things weren’t going to run smoothly for them.</p><p>“I know, I get that.”  She sighed and Hermione gave her a look which read ‘obviously you get it, stop being a wanker’.</p><p>“Then <em> stop </em>doing it.” Hermione instructed and Pansy flinched away from the firmness in her tone and nodded.  The sharpness of her tone was warranted, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt a little</p><p>“I will, I promise.” Pansy said, and she meant that.  She was going to do her best to not be weird about anything.  Now she shouldn’t have said promise, because sometimes things happen without an action prompting them.</p><p>“Good.”  She said, and the lesson started soon after.  Pansy had really meant to pay attention, but she couldn’t because she got one question just stuck in her head, and it occupied all thoughts, so when they were set off to make the potion, Pansy tapped Hermione on the arm and cleared her throat.</p><p>“What’s the first thing you’d do if you had Veritaserum?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione took a deep breath and looked at her with a bit of shock.  Fair, it was an odd question but that didn’t mean Pansy wanted the answer any less.</p><p>“Like… drank it or just had it in my possession.  Because the answers would be vastly different.”  Hermione said, and Pansy thought for a moment.  She knew what would happen if Hermione were to ingest the potion, she'd tell all of the secrets in her mind, even those only she believed to be true.</p><p>“In your possession.”  She said and Hermione paused, actually thinking about</p><p>“Hm.  For that one, I actually don’t know.  I don’t think I’d use it unless absolutely needed, it sort of seems immoral to use it on someone.”  Hermione said, and Pansy let a grin spread across her face as she thought of what she would do.  It was so beautifully obvious.</p><p>“That's really noble.  I’d pour it in Draco’s drinks so I can figure out what he’s hiding, because I’m sick of not being able to figure it out.”  She said, the grin turning wicked, and Hermione’s jaw dropped before she gave a look of disapproval and flicked Pansy’s arm.</p><p>“Jesus, Pansy!  That should be illegal!”  She hissed and Pansy shrugged.  It didn’t <em> seem </em>illegal to her, not even slightly.  If the potion was regulated, then what was the problem with using it for its intended purpose.</p><p>“No, what should be <em> illegal </em>is how good he is at hiding his secrets.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione rolled her eyes.  On some level, Pansy could understand what she was arguing was ridiculous.  That doesn't mean she doesn't think about how annoying it is that Draco can hide his secrets when he exposed hers to the entire school.</p><p>“It’s a secret for a reason!  He doesn’t want anyone to know!”  Hermione said, sounding very stressed out by this whole situation.  Pansy shrugged and drummed her fingers on the table.  How can she eloquently say 'He was a wanker who released my secrets to the school so I deserve to know at least <em> something </em>about him that no one else knows'</p><p>“Yeah, but he’s being annoying!”  She said, and grimaced.  Wow, of all the ways to phrase things, <em> that </em>was what she settled on.  Classy.</p><p>“You still shouldn’t do that to him, no matter how annoying he is.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy wanted to know when the hell she’d started caring so much about Draco and his feelings.  Last time she checked Hermione <em> didn’t </em>care.</p><p>“What I would choose to do <em> literally </em>doesn’t affect you… probably.  Given that you’re not an accomplice or the person he has secrets about.”  Pansy said, and Hermione gave her a warning look</p><p>“Okay but like… you wouldn’t actually do that would you?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy knew she should say she wouldn’t, but that would be a lie.  It felt wrong to lie to her friend, especially when the truth was so obvious.</p><p>“You know for a <em> fact </em>that I would do that, without a single hesitation.”  Pansy said with a laugh and Hermione sighed and nodded.</p><p>“Yes, but I can hope that you’ll change some of your morals.”  Hermione said, a distraught look on her face.  Did she honestly think she could change Pansy that quickly?  Well, in other ways than she already had.</p><p>“Never.”  Pansy said with a smirk and Hermione rolled her eyes and smacked her arm lightly before going back to their potion.   The one that Pansy had paid no attention to during the instruction period.  Awesome.</p><hr/><p>“Pansy!  Pansy Parkinson!  Wait up, would you?”  Pansy heard Ginny yelling and she was tempted not to stop.  Not because she didn’t want to talk, but because she was running late to the library and if she was any later Hermione was going to lecture her on the importance of keeping your appointments in line.   She ended up stopping anyways when Ginny caught up to her and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked, wriggling out of Ginny’s grip, or trying to anyways, Pansy always forgot how strong she was.</p><p>“So, you know how Hermione was going to talk to me about you spending the holidays with my family?”  Ginny asked, and immediately Pansy felt the panic set in.  She could already hear the rejection ‘sorry, but theres no room’ ‘sorry, but we just don’t like you’  might as well get ahead of all that.</p><p>“Oh Merlin, I’m sorry about that, you don’t have to-.”  Ginny cut her off and held a hand up to keep her from restarting.</p><p>“So I wrote to my mom, actually Hermione helped me and contributed the vast majority of what I said, but anyway, she wants you to come home with us for the holidays.  What do you say?”  Ginny asked and Pansy didn’t know how to respond.  She’d always wondered what it was like, spending a holiday with people who were warm and inviting.  Maybe the day would be happy, like it was supposed to be.</p><p>“Oh.  I…. I didn’t think the answer was going to be yes, what with me and Ron always being at odds-.”  Ginny cut her off and chuckled.  Makes sense.  At odds is a <em> huge </em>understatement and Ginny knew it.</p><p>“Ron doesn’t factor into this, he can make do with you being there.”  Ginny insisted and Pansy swallowed heavily, feeling like both answers were loaded, so she chose the one that might be a bit more interesting.</p><p>“Um.  Alright.”  Pansy said, and Ginny flashed her a huge grin and pulled her into a hug, which Pansy was not expecting.  Ginny hugged far harder than both Daphne and Hermione, but it still felt nice.</p><p>“So… yeah, you’re coming with us.  And… I haven’t gotten the chance to say it yet, but I’m sorry about how things went down with your family, that was terrifying to watch.”  Ginny said when she finally let her death grip go.</p><p>“Thanks, Gin.”  Pansy said, and she felt a little warm inside.  No one had talked about the actual <em> disownment </em> except for Draco, Daphne and Hermione, it was nice to have someone acknowledge it, even if the person was eager to get off the topic as quickly as humanly possible.</p><p>“So… have you ever had a proper holiday?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy thought about it.  She didn’t know what a ‘proper holiday’ was supposed to be, she had just had what her family did, it was all she knew.</p><p>“Well I really don’t know actually.  I would go home, have a damn near silent dinner with my family, and then on New Years Eve I’d go to a party at the Malfoys that always seemed to be dreary in some way.”  Pansy explained and Ginny looked like she was either going to cry or be sick as she patted Pansy’s arm lightly.</p><p>“So you could’ve just answered <em> no </em>.  You’re gonna love it, I promise.”  She insisted and Pansy sighed and chewed on her lip.  She still wasn’t entirely sure about this because it felt like she would be intruding.</p><p>“Whose all going to be there?”  Pansy asked and Ginny <em> genuinely </em>had to think for a moment.  It must be interesting, all those people under one roof.</p><p>“Well, of course me and Ron and my parents, Hermione and Harry… Oh!  You remember Fleur? One of the Triwizard champions?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  Of course she remembered Fleur.  At the time she had thought that she was just uncomfortable around her because she didn't know who she was, but she had realized afterwards that that was <em> not </em>the case.  But there are worse gay awakenings than Fleur Delacour.</p><p>“Yeah, of course I do.  Why?”  She asked and Ginny grinned and shrugged, looking like she had found out some secret that was going to change everything in the world.  That was something Pansy appreciated about Ginny, the fact that she had an interesting world outlook.</p><p>“Well, she’s with my brother Bill, so you’ll be seeing her.  And the twins will both be there.”  Ginny said, and Pansy swallowed heavily as she counted them up in her head.  Thats at least 10 people.  Insane. </p><p>“That's a lot of people.”  Pansy mumbled, and Ginny nodded.  Of course she knew, she lived with it.</p><p>“And that's without two of the brothers.  My brother Charlie’s in Romania, and Percy just… doesn’t talk to us anymore.”  Ginny explained, and Pansy noted the sadness in her eyes when she talked about Percy.  She thought that that must be hard, having a sibling leave you behind.</p><p>“Wow.  Thats… intense.  But um… off topic… how do we know your mom will like me?”  Pansy asked and Ginny chuckled and shrugged.  She seemed so sure, and Pansy wanted to know how and why.</p><p>“Hey, it’ll be okay.  My mom already loves you just from… whatever Hermione wrote.  She’s really excited to meet you.”  Ginny insisted, and this peaked Pansy’s interest.  What had Hermione said that was so persuasive?</p><p>“Cannot imagine why.”  Pansy muttered, and she meant that.  All Mrs. Weasley had probably heard about Pansy before this year was that she was some richbitch bully without a backbone.  Even if that was the case at one point, it was outdated information.  She heard Ginny sigh and looked back up to see her shaking her head.</p><p>“Because despite what you may think, Parkinson… people <em>like </em>you.”  Ginny insisted, and Pansy clicked her tongue as she shifted from foot to foot.  She couldn't think of very many instances where that statement was true, especially not recently.</p><p>“Not very many of them.”  Pansy whispered and Ginny shook her head again.  Pansy knew it was going to get irritating fast if she didn’t accept it, but it was difficult.  It was hard to see people cared.</p><p>“That's not true.  You have friends.”  Ginny insisted and Pansy sighed.  Friends does not mean people liked her, and Pansy knew that.</p><p>“Sure, but that doesn’t mean-.”  Ginny cut her off with a sigh and crossed her arms.</p><p>“Don’t fight me on this.”  She stated rather firmly and Pansy put her hands up in defense and took a deep breath.  She may not be able to fight it, but that doesn’t mean that her mindset isn’t correct.</p><p>“Fine, fine, fine.  But I really have to go study, okay?”  Pansy said, starting to walk away backwards, and Ginny nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, of course.  I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”  She said and Pansy gave her a little thumbs up, immediately grimacing at how awkward that had looked.  She was Pansy Parkinson, she didn’t give thumbs up to people.</p><p>“Of course.”  Pansy said, and turned on her heel, rushing to the library as quickly as possible.  She was <em> so </em>late.</p><p>“You’re running late today.”  Hermione observed as Pansy sat down across from her, a little bit winded.  She’d run down the rest of the corridor because she didn’t want Hermione to think she’d blown her off, not that Pansy would ever admit that, she had far too much pride for that.</p><p>“Sorry, Ginny stopped me in the hall.”  She explained and Hermione smiled, seemingly to herself, before she looked up at Pansy with a knowing glint in her eyes.  So she’d known before Pansy, that hardly seemed fair.</p><p>“Oh, did she tell you?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  Was that not clear from ‘Ginny stopped me in the hall’?  She’d even buried the lead.</p><p>“Yeah, that I’m spending the holiday at the Burrow.”  She responded, examining her cuticles as she spoke.</p><p>“I’m glad that you have somewhere to go.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy looked up and flashed her a quick smile before the Gryffindor bent back over her paper and resumed her writing.  After a few moments of boredom, she had to ask Hermione the one burning question that was stuck in her head.</p><p>“What did you <em> tell </em>Ginny’s mother about me?”  She asked, and Hermione seemed to smile to herself as she answered, but that could’ve been a trick of the light.</p><p>“Nothing that isn’t obvious.”  Hermione said, and Pansy pinched the bridge of her nose.  Was she being vague on <em> purpose </em>just to irritate her?  Because it sure felt like it.</p><p>“That sounds intentionally ominous.”  Pansy tried and Hermione shrugged, still not giving Pansy full eye contact as she unrolled more of the parchment.</p><p>“I’m not telling you what was said, just know that it was all good things.”  Hermione said and Pansy whistled lowly, earning her a glare from Madam Pince, which was ultimately ignored.  Anything short of detention wasn’t something Pansy worried about.</p><p>“Damn, you found enough good things to make an entire letter?”  Pansy asked, honestly a little impressed.  Hermione nodded, not looking up at her.</p><p>“Mhm.”  She muttered and Pansy narrowed her eyes and leaned forward across the table.</p><p>“If you had to embellish that's okay, you can tell me.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione seemed to get a little more frustrated as she pressed her quill down harder on the parchment.  Did she really think that that was going to stop Pansy from stating what is probably true?</p><p>“I didn’t!  There's plenty of positive aspects about you.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  That sounded like an outright lie.</p><p>“You flatter me, Hermione.”  Pansy said, a small smirk on her face.  She couldn’t think of a single other person who would think of <em> plenty </em>positive aspects.  Maybe one or two, but that wasn’t plenty.  Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, glancing up for a fraction of a second to get her point across.</p><p>“Flattery’s got nothing to do with it.  It’s just a fact.”  She mumbled, looking back down at her paper.  Pansy didn’t quite know how to take that, so she chose instead to ignore it all together.  What's that saying?  Ignorance is bliss?</p><p>“Whatever.  What are you working on?”  Pansy asked, craning her neck to get a look at the parchment, but before she could, Hermione pulled it closer to her.</p><p>“The Transfiguration essay.”  She said, and Pansy arched her brow.  They didn’t have any homework that was even due before break.</p><p>“The one thats due <em> after </em>the holiday?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded as though that should have been obvious.  Although Pansy genuinely didn’t know how she was supposed to know that.</p><p>“Yeah.”  Hermione said and Pansy rubbed her temples and shook her head.  Is this why people didn’t befriend the genius kids?  Because they feel like idiots?  Because currently Pansy felt extremely stupid for what she was thinking.</p><p>“Why?  You’ve got plenty of time.”  Pansy pointed out and Hermione shook her head with a sigh, not even looking up from the parchment.</p><p>“Yes, but I tend to like to <em> enjoy </em>my holiday.”  Hermione said, arching her brow.  Pansy gasped and threw her quill at Hermione, who let out a small laugh as she pushed it back to her.  This was the pattern that continued for the rest of the night, Pansy would attempt to tease Hermione, but always ended up the one getting slightly made fun of.  It was Pansy's own fault for befriending the biggest know it all in the school, she'd always lose the arguments.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Some words are better left unsaid</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>How in the hell had Hermione managed to go missing in one day?  That must be what happened because Pansy couldn’t find her anywhere, and the train was leaving in a few minutes.  She scanned the crowd a second time and let out a small breath of relief when she saw the back of the girl’s head.  Pansy started walking over and cleared her throat.</p><p>“<em> There </em> you are.”  Pansy called out and Hermione turned around, a smile growing on her face as she looped an arm through Pansy’s. </p><p>“I’ve been waiting for you.  Are you ready to go?”  She asked and Pansy sighed.  ‘Ready to possibly not be able to contain the fact that I have a crush on you?  Not exactly.’  Pansy thought, but decided it better to keep that little statement tucked away.  No need to make the trip weird.</p><p>“Physically, yes but emotionally-.”  Hermione rolled her eyes and cut her off, which Pansy did find a little rude.  She was brooding, it was a very important part of her emotional process.</p><p>“Oh shut up.  It’ll be fine, stop acting like a baby.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy opened her mouth in surprise and let out a little chuckle because that was the second time in their friendship Hermione had said that, and Pansy knew it meant she was being annoying.  ‘And this is only the beginning, Granger.  You’re stuck with me all break’  Pansy thought to herself with a small smirk.</p><p>“I am <em> not </em> -.”  Pansy started and Hermione sighed and switched her arm out to grab Pansy’s hand and all but drag her onto the train. </p><p>“Yes, you are.  Now come on, we need to find a compartment before they’re all full.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy dug her heels in a bit.  She was worried that spending too much concentrated time around her would make Hermione end up resenting the fact that she’d worked so hard to get Pansy invited in the first place.  After all, her father always said people didn’t want to spend more time around than what was completely mandatory.</p><p>“I can just sit alone-.”  Pansy insisted, but Hermione shook her head and didn’t let up on the grip. </p><p>“Nope.”  She responded and Pansy sighed and tried again to pull her arm back.  She was sure that the ride would be enough to send Hermione over the ride of being annoyed with her.</p><p>“But-.”  Pansy tried, and Hermione shot her a look that silenced all the attempts she’d tried to get out of this.</p><p>“I said <em> no, </em> Parkinson.”  She insisted and Pansy sighed and let Hermione continue leading her through the train.  They’d had no luck in finding a compartment that wasn’t full until Ron popped out of a compartment with a large grin on his face.  Ah yes, because it wasn’t bad enough when Pansy was stressed for the ride, she had to be annoyed too. </p><p>“‘Mione!  I saved you a seat.”  He said and Hermione gave him a smile, which made Pansy’s stomach lurch.  She had nothing to be jealous over, she and Hermione were <em> friends </em> and it was likely nothing more was going to happen. </p><p>“Oh, that was nice of you.”  Hermione said and went to enter the compartment, still gripping Pansy’s hand tightly, like she was scared the Slytherin was going to run away -a valid fear, Pansy was planning on it-.  When Pansy tried to enter the compartment -she really had no choice after all-  Ron put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back, his smile quickly turning into a sneer.</p><p>“What the hell do you think you’re doing?  You’re ruining my holiday, there's no need for you to ruin the ride home-.”  Ron started, but Hermione stepped in front of Pansy and stared him down.  She was about to say something when Ron was suddenly getting pulled back into the compartment, and he sat down to reveal a very tired looking Potter.</p><p>“Mate, leave her alone.  Sit down, Pansy.  The seat is open.”  Potter said, sounding a little annoyed at his friend's tantrum.  Pansy gave him a grateful smile as she slid into her seat, trying to keep space between her and Hermione because if holding hands made her heart race, no clue what anything else would do.  This holiday was going to be the death of her.</p><p>“Oh um… thank you.”  She mumbled, and apparently, being on the far edge of the seat was <em> not </em> what Hermione wanted because she raised her eyebrow and sighed, laying her head onto Pansy’s shoulder, causing Pansy to swallow heavily.  This was a mess.  A <em> mess </em> . </p><p>“So, Pansy… tell us about yourself.”  Potter said after a long moment of silence.  Pansy looked at him in alarm because she was fairly certain no one had asked her that before.  When she was friends with Draco the first time, all anyone ever cared about was him, there was no room for her.</p><p>“Excuse me?”  She asked and Potter shrugged, leaning back a bit in his seat and yawning.  Did he not sleep?  How was he so tired? It was barely noon...</p><p>“Well, obviously Hermione knows things about you, the two of you are friends, but aside from who your friends are, we really know nothing about you.”  Potter explained and she sighed and nodded.  That made sense, obviously Hermione’s friends were protective, she’d seen that multiple times already.</p><p>“Okay well… What do you want to know?”  Pansy asked and Potter thought for a moment.  Okay, if you’re going to ask questions, at least think about it first before instilling panic in another person.</p><p>“What's your favorite class?”  He finally asked.  Really, all that hard thinking and <em> that's </em> what he decided on?  Pansy was ready to say a snide remark when she saw Hermione’s face break into a smile as she lifted her head up. </p><p>“Ooo I don’t even know that one.”  She said, and Pansy swallowed heavily, feeling expectant eyes on her.  Alright, she could answer this stupid question.</p><p>“Well… I really enjoy Astronomy-.”  Pansy started and was interrupted by Ron snorting and shaking his head, still glaring out the window.</p><p>“Hm.  Shocked it wasn’t <em> potions </em> .”  Ron spat and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Firstly, she was unsure how that was an insult, potions was a perfectly respectable class, and second of all, they’d been on this train for at most ten minutes and Ron was <em> already </em> getting on her nerves.  That had to be a new record. </p><p>“This may come as a shock to you, Ron but not every Slytherin is the same.  We <em> also </em> have diverse interests, I know it's surprising.”  She sneered and Potter cleared his throat and glanced between the two of them.  He should’ve known that that would happen, thought Pansy, when had they <em> ever </em> gotten along? </p><p>“Ahem.  <em> Anyways </em> .  Favorite color.”  Harry said and Pansy felt her face get hot because… honestly, sometimes she’s very predictable. </p><p>“It's going to sound very cliche, but green.”  She mumbled, and again Ron huffed and clenched his arms tighter around his chest.</p><p>“That isn’t cliche, just extremely obvious.”  Ron muttered, and Potter kicked his shin lightly, a clear signal to shut up.  Pansy smiled at this, only because the last thing she expected still was the Chosen One standing up for her.</p><p>“Anyways!  Do you like being at Hogwarts?”  Potter asked, and Pansy shrugged.  That felt like a loaded question, of course she liked <em> being </em> at Hogwarts,  but this year's atmosphere obviously hadn’t been the best for her. </p><p>“It's been alright overall, I could’ve done without the whole outing thing, but you know… shit happens.”  Pansy said, and shrugged.  She felt Hermione rub her upper back lightly and looked over to see a look of anger and apology mixed together.  A few weeks ago she would’ve taken that for pity, but she knew better now.</p><p>“That was… awful.  I’m sorry that it happened.  One last question.”  Potter said and Pansy sighed and raised an eyebrow.  She was getting a little sick of humoring him, but she didn’t exactly want to be rude because he wasn’t really doing anything.</p><p>“Okay?”  Pansy asked, and the boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as if what he was going to say was going to offend the witch.  With the shit that she's heard, she'd honestly love to see him try.</p><p>“Why are you still friends with Hermione?”  He asked, and Pansy blinked in surprise, a little taken aback.  </p><p>“What?”  She asked, confused.  She didn't know what she was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn't <em>that</em>.  That seemed a little bit like Potter didn't trust her around his friend.  He should, Pansy hasn't done anything to fuck it up yet. </p><p>“I’m not being rude!  I’m just surprised the two of you are friends, I thought you’d stop hanging out after the Herbology project.”  Potter explained and Pansy nodded.  Okay, so that makes sense.  Pansy's pretty sure everyone thought that, including the two parties involved.</p><p>“Initially I did too, but Hermione is actually really funny and I just… I don’t know, i guess I like being around her.”  Pansy explained, and it was probably just a coincidence that Hermione's smile seemed to get a little bigger.</p><p>“Hm.  Okay.  Well… I guess you’re okay.”  He decided, and Pansy let out a dry chuckle.  How <em>nice </em>of him. </p><p>“What a glowing review, Potter.”  Pansy said sarcastically and Potter sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke.</p><p>“To be fair I don’t know you well.”  Potter said, sounding a little defensive, but Pansy nodded.  He wasn’t <em> wrong </em> , that was how she preferred it. </p><p>“Not a lot of people do.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked over at her with curiosity in her eyes.</p><p>“Do I?”  Hermione asked and Pansy sighed and nodded.  Hermione knew her, at this point, almost as well as Daphne and Tracey which should <em> really </em> say something about how closed-off Pansy had been, considering she’d been friends with the two other girls since first year. </p><p>“Far better than most, I’ll say that.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione rolled her eyes and gave her a look.</p><p>“Well, that's comforting.”  She said, the sarcasm evident in her voice.  It must be irritating to others, Pansy realized, that she doesn’t share what's going on inside.  But it's just not her nature, not how she was raised.</p><p>“I know you’re being sarcastic, but I was being honest.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair.</p><p>“Yes but ‘better than most’ really doesn’t tell me much.”  She pointed out and Pansy nodded.  She did have a point after all, Pansy was intentionally vague with what that had meant to her.</p><p>“You know what I look like when I cry, that's not something most people can say.”  Pansy offered and Hermione sighed and shook her head, but let a small smirk on her face.  Pansy knew that she was probably irritating her with the fact that she wasn’t able to fully talk about her emotions.</p><p>“Your bar of people knowing you is on the floor.  Raise your expectations.”  Hermione insisted in a flat voice, and Pansy shook her head.  She didn't’ need to raise anything.</p><p>“No, my classifications work just fine, thank you.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed, crossing her arms.  Pansy wasn’t sure what Hermione’s intent was with that look, probably anger, but it just registered as cute.</p><p>“God, you’re insufferable.”  Hermione muttered, curling back against Pansy’s side, which prompted Pansy to clear her throat and try looking anywhere but at Hermione.  She looked cute, curled up there, and Pansy couldn’t stand that.</p><p>“Oh I know, that’s kind of my thing.”  She said, and Hermione sighed and glanced up, giving her one last look of slight disappointment before closing her eyes for the rest of the ride.  The only two of them who stayed away were Ron and Pansy, and Pansy was fairly certain the only reason the Gryffindor boy stayed awake was he didn’t trust Pansy, even though Hermione had <em> chosen </em>to lay her head on her shoulder.  Wanker.</p><hr/><p>After a long and uncomfortable ride on the train, followed by an equally awkward trip to the Burrow, the group finally walked into a house.  It was quite interesting, Pansy thought, warm and filled to the brim with people and things, the exact opposite of her cold and clinical childhood home.  She thought she quite liked it as a shorter woman with very similar features to Ginny emerged from the kitchen with a large smile.  It must be their mum, Pansy thought, because who else would a small ginger woman be in this house?</p><p>“Oh!  Hello, darlings, hello!  You all look so lovely.  How was the train ride, any issues?”  The woman asked, and Ron let out a heavy sigh and crossed his arms, leveling a glare behind him at Pansy before starting to talk.</p><p>“Well there was one big one-.”  Ginny smacked the back of his head and cut him off, which did make Pansy quietly chuckle.  And who could blame her?  It was funny that even Ron’s own <em> sister </em> was completely fed up with him. </p><p>“No, mum it was great.”  Ginny insisted and Mrs. Weasley beamed at her daughter and nodded.</p><p>“That's wonderful.  Just wonderful.  Ginny, Ron, why don’t you go get your rooms ready, okay?”  She asked, looking between her two children.  Pansy heard Ron groan and almost rolled her eyes.  A tantrum?  At <em> their </em> age?  </p><p>“But mum-.”  Ron whined, but he was quickly cut off by the Mrs. Weasley.  Hm, for such a sweet woman she can produce a nasty glare, Pansy thought to herself that she wouldn’t ever want to be on the receiving end of one.</p><p>“Now!”  She instructed and Pansy bit her lip to keep from laughing as Ginny made her way to the stairs.  Ron held back like he was going to start a row with his mother, but he seemed to think better of it.</p><p>“...Fine.” He mumbled, and walked away, up the stairs.  Once they were both gone, Mrs. Weasley turned around, her face going from a look of strict discipline to a giant smile when she saw Potter and Hermione.</p><p>“Harry dear, how are you?”  She asked, reaching up to pinch his cheek lightly.  Potter leaned away and winced, which made Pansy almost chuckle again.  She’d never seen an actual loving family introduction, it was kind of funny to watch.</p><p>“Oh, I’m doing well Mrs. Weasley.  Happy to be here.”  Potter said with a large smile, and the woman sighed and nodded, dropping her hands to his arms and patting lightly, moving him aside to get to Hermione.</p><p>“Happy you <em> are </em> here.  Hermione, how have you been?  I haven’t heard from you since the summertime.”  Mrs. Weasley said, and Pansy could all but <em> feel </em> Hermione’s discomfort.  Obviously Ron’s mother knew about the breakup, but how had she taken it?  Pansy had to wonder, because she could understand if maybe she was mad, but it really didn’t seem like it. </p><p>“I’m sorry for not reaching out, Mrs. Weasley, I didn’t know how you’d feel after me and Ron split-.”  Mrs. Weasely waved Hermione’s sentence away with a smile.  Pansy could see why everyone seemed to like her so much, she was like… the ideal mother.  Granted, Pansy didn’t have much experience as she didn’t see her own mother much when she still <em> had </em> one. </p><p>“I don’t care about that!  Relationships come and go, you’ve been part of the family for far longer than that.  So don’t you ever go that long without reaching out again, or I’ll send you a howler myself!”  Mrs. Weasley joked, but Hermione went rigid.  Pansy guessed it was at the thought of getting in trouble in such a way.</p><p>“Yes ma’am.”  Hermione said, and then Mrs. Weasley looked over Hermione’s shoulder, setting her sights on Pansy.  She was nervous, because this was the time she found out if Mrs. Weasley <em> actually </em> wanted her here, or if she was just going through the motions. </p><p>“And you must be Pansy Parkinson.  Right?”  The woman asked.  She had kind eyes and a large smile and seemed to radiate love in a way Pansy’s own mother had never quite mastered.  It made her a little nervous, being around people who were decidedly good after being raised the way she had been raised. </p><p>“Yes, ma’am.  It's lovely to meet you.”  She said after clearing her throat.  Pansy quickly realized she didn’t know what to do with her hands, and that standing this still for some reason made her very anxious.</p><p>“Please, you can call me Molly.  Harry, Hermione, feel free to make yourselves at home.”  Mrs. Weasley said, her voice warm and comforting.  The two Gryffindors did just that, both opting to settle on the couch.</p><p>“Um-.”  Pansy started, and it was as if something clicked in Mrs. Weasley’s mind.  Obviously she knew of pureblood culture, she was part of the sacred 28.</p><p>“Oh!  You don’t <em> have </em> to call me Molly, darling.  If it makes you uncomfortable, you can call me Mrs. Weasley.”  She insisted, patting the back of Pansy’s hand softly.  Pansy let out a breath of relief and nodded.   She could do that. </p><p>“Alright.”  She said, and Mrs. Weasley walked Pansy a little bit out of the living room, just to a different corner where Hermione and Potter could hear less.</p><p>“So… Ginny tells me your parents disowned you?”  She asked quietly and Pansy flinched away.  This was when she ruined it, she just knew it.  Who wants to deal with a disgraced lesbian pureblood?  Nobody.</p><p>“Yes ma’am.  It was my fault, really-.”  Mrs. Weasley cut her off with a quick shake of her head.</p><p>“Now don’t talk like that.  It's not something you can control and it's not a reason for a parent to leave a child behind.”  Mrs. Weasley said firmly, and Pansy saw the fire in her eyes.  Same fire Ginny got when she talked about quidditch, same fire Ron got when he and Pansy got into arguments.</p><p>“Oh…”  She said quietly, feeling her face get a little hot as she looked away from the woman.  She didn’t quite know why she was embarrassed, but she felt like someone being mad on her behalf wasn’t something… deserved.  Like she’d been a wanker for s long, of course the world was going to catch up and fuck something up for her.</p><p>“My, you are quite a pretty young woman, aren’t you?”  Mrs. Weasley asked quietly, and Pansy glanced around a little nervously.</p><p>“I really couldn’t say.”  Pansy said.  Actually she could say, she knew for a fact she wasn’t very pretty, she was insanely average.</p><p>“You’ve got lovely bone structure, really.  Hermione had mentioned it casually in one of the letters she and Ginny sent, I asked to know what you looked like and I do believe she said ‘alarmingly pretty.’  She’s spot on with that.”  Mrs. Weasley said, and Pansy arched her brow slightly when she heard the sound of something being dropped over by the couch and Hermione looked like she was about to throw up when Pansy looked that way.  Potter noticed too and rubbed her back lightly.</p><p>“Really, is that so…”  Pansy asked, giving Hermione a look and smirking slightly.  She knew there’d been something Hermione had embellished on, and for her part the Gryffindor girl looked like she’d just swallowed a toad.</p><p>“Molly…” Hermione said, and her voice seemed to be a warning.  Mrs. Weasley covered her mouth and chuckled a little bit.</p><p>“Oh I’ve said too much… but it's nice to hear a complement every now and again, now isn’t it?”  Mrs. Weasley asked, and Pansy nodded.  It was nice to hear, but also incredibly confusing now because of the person the compliment came from.  But she couldn’t exactly say that to Hermione’s ex’s mother.  Hermione, speaking of, stood up and walked up the stairs, still looking like she was about to faint.</p><p>“Yes ma’am.”  Pansy answered, going for politeness instead.  Mrs. Weasley looked like she wanted to say something else but was interrupted by Ginny running down the stairs.</p><p>“Mom!  Let Pansy go.”  Ginny called out and Mrs. Weasley sighed and wrung her hands with a smile.</p><p>“Right, right.  You probably want to hang out with your friends.  Now, we’re a little light on space, do you mind sleeping on the couch?”  She asked, and Pansy shook her head.  She wouldn’t have minded if they’d made her sleep out in the shed, it was just nice to be here.</p><p>“Not at all, thank you for having me.”  Pansy said, and Mrs. Weasley patted her hand softly and smiled.</p><p>“Of course!  Thank you for coming.”  She said, and let Pansy walk over to Ginny, who was waiting impatiently at the bottom of the stairs, clearly thinking about something important.</p><p>“Sorry about my mom, she can be a little intense.”  Ginny said as they started up the stairs and Pansy shook her head.  She quite liked talking to Mrs. Weasley, it was easy in a way talking to her own parents had never been.</p><p>“No, it was nice.  My family was never… warm to me, you know?  They were just going through the motions of pretending because they had to.”  Pansy said, and her chest ached at that confession.  She’d never said that much out loud, maybe she’d mentioned it but it was the first time it was really sinking in.  Ginny looked a little remorseful, which Pansy found ridiculous, because she hadn’t done anything.</p><p>“Pansy I’m-.”  Ginny started, but Pansy shook her head and forced a small smile.</p><p>“Hey, it's okay.  Lets just ignore it right now, if you don’t mind.”  Pansy said, and Ginny paused for a second, as if she was considering all the aspects of Pansy’s request which, honestly, there were not a lot of them.  After a moment or two she seemed to agree and Pansy felt her shoulders relax a bit.</p><p>“Well alright.  Come on.”  Ginny said, leading Pansy down the narrow hallway to her bedroom.  Once inside, Pansy was surprised by how large it felt, with all the posters and things about she’d thought it would feel cramped.</p><p>“Your room is… nice.”  Pansy said softly, and she’d meant it, but she saw Ginny grimace and shake her head.</p><p>“I’m sure it's not what you’re used to, but it's something.”  Ginny said, and Pansy resented the fact that</p><p>“No, I really do like it… it's homey.”  Pansy said.  Ginny smiled at her and shrugged, clearly not entirely believing her.</p><p>“Thanks, that's… sweet of you to say.  Now sit down!  ‘Mione, you too!”  Ginny said, ushering both girls to sit on the edge of her bed.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and looked at GInny expectantly.</p><p>“Okay?  Whats up?”  Pansy asked and Ginny cleared her throat, looking like she felt a bit ill.</p><p>“I um… I met someone.”  She mumbled, and Hermione’s face lit up as she leaned forward on the bed.</p><p>“That's great, Gin!  Do we know him?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy wanted to smack her because <em>how </em>was she being so blind right now?  Ginny looked down and cleared her throat, obviously scared to actually say it.</p><p>“Yeah you do know… her?”  Ginny said, wincing away for a moment, clearly not seeing when the look of understanding flooded Hermione’s features.  Okay, so Hermione is one of the friends Ginny told, good to know.</p><p>“Oh that's right!  I forgot about that aspect for a moment… so who is it?”  Hermione asked and Ginny took a deep breath.  Pansy could practically <em>see</em> how scared she was.</p><p>“Luna?  She and I talked a week before we left for the holiday and we’ve sort of been together since then.”  Ginny said quietly, and Pansy couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face.  She wasn’t ever sure if Ginny was going to take her advice and go for it, but she was <em>so </em>glad that she had.</p><p>“Merlin, took you long enough.”  Pansy said, and Ginny smacked her arm and rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Oh shut up, Parkinson.”</p><p>“No, I’m really happy for you two.   I’m just <em>saying </em>if you’d listened to me Hogsmeade this could’ve gone a lot faster.”  Pansy said with a smirk, and Ginny sighed and leaned against her wall.</p><p>“I know.”  Ginny mumbled and Hermione looked a little alarmed as she glanced between the two of them.  Did she not know?</p><p>“Wait… <em>that's </em>what you two talked about at Hogsmeade?!”  Hermione asked, and Pansy almost had to chuckle.  Did she seriously believe that quidditch story, because if so, Pansy wasn’t sure about that whole ‘brightest witch of our age’ nonsense.</p><p>“Half of it.”  Ginny said, and Pansy gave her a look which she refused to meet with her eyes.  They could've left it at 'yeah thats was what we talked about'. Why did Ginny have to make this so damn difficult?</p><p>“What was the other half?”  Hermione asked and Pansy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in frustration.  Oh, she was gonna get Weasley back for this one.</p><p>“The quidditch, remember?”   Ginny responded and Pansy let out a quiet sigh of relief because she was just trying to make it through this holiday so she could get back to school and still have <em>friends</em>. </p><p>“Oh.  Right.  I didn’t know if that was a cover up…”  Hermione said, now sounding suspicious.  Pansy swallowed nervously and shook her head.  While she was proud of Ginny, that didn’t mean she was wanting to ruin her friendship with Hermione. </p><p>“No, there was part of it that wasn't."  Pansy insisted, but Hermione still looked a bit dubious.  Luckily, she did let it drop and turned her full attention back to the topic at hand.</p><p>“So Ginny… will Luna be joining us at all for the holiday?”  Hermione asked, and Ginny blushed deeply and shook her head.  This didn't shock Pansy, they'd just started dating and it seemed a little soon to have a holiday together.</p><p>“No, not this year but… it was just nice to tell someone, you know?”  She asked, and Hermione nodded.  Pansy personally didn't get that, she was fairly certain that were she ever to find someone, she'd be too scared to tell anyone.</p><p>“I totally get it, yeah.”  Hermione stated, and Pansy sighed, standing up off of Ginny's bed.  If this was going in the direction of talking about broad spectrum romance, Pansy wanted to be anywhere but there.</p><p>“I think I might head back downstairs, set my bag somewhere that isn’t in the walkway, you know?”  Pansy said, heading towards the door, but she heard some shifting behind her before she could get there, and the familiar smell of Hermione (at this point, it wasn't even her perfume.  It was just <em>her</em>) was right next to her, making her pause.</p><p>“I’ll walk with you, could probably stand to walk around a bit after that train ride.”  Hermione said, and Pansy wanted to say no, she wanted to walk alone, because she didn't want to interrupt anything Ginny and Hermione might be talking about, but it became pretty clear that the other girl wasn't moving.</p><p>“Yeah, alright.  I'll see you in a minute then, 'Mione."  Pansy heard Ginny say.  Well there goes any chance of being alone, but it felt a little dangerous, being around her crush after just talking about feelings.  So she lightened the subject, or at least attempted to as they walked down the stairs.</p><p>“So you think I’m alarmingly pretty, Granger?”  Pansy asked, the joking tone clear in her voice.  Hermione shot her a look and sighed, shaking her head.</p><p>“Don’t make it weird, like I said I only told Molly things that were true.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  Her alleged prettiness was not a fact, it was an opinion.</p><p>“But I’m not-."  Hermione cut her off and whipped around when they stopped at the couch, the same look in her eyes that she had had that night at the ball, now Pansy would recognize it anywhere... but she still didn't know what it meant.</p><p>“Are you <em> serious </em> Parkinson?  You’re honestly… gorgeous.  It's a little annoying sometimes, it gets on my nerves that you possess the ability to just be <em> so </em> pretty.”  Hermione said, sounding a little stressed as it all came out.  Pansy was stunned into silence for a good moment before she cleared her throat and smiled. </p><p>“Oh.  Well um… thank you.”  She mumbled and Hermione looked sheepish as she rubbed the back of her neck, refusing to meet Pansy’s eyes.</p><p>“Yeah.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out a little rougher then usual</p><p>“You are too, you know.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked at her with some surprise</p><p>“What?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  There was no way she didn't know how beautiful she was, it was like... the second most obvious thing about her that you notice, the first being her intelligence because Pansy would bet money that Hermione drops academic knowledge into every first conversation.</p><p>“Pretty.”  The word came out in nearly a whisper, and it left a heavy silence between two of them.  Pansy nearly apologized when Hermione cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair, not looking anywhere near where Pansy was standing.</p><p>“I’ll talk to you later, Pansy.”  Hermione said, not acknowledging or responding to the fact that Pansy had just called her pretty, which didn't help Pansy's panic at all, if anything it made it worse.  She turned around walked back upstairs, leaving Pansy to her own mind.  She couldn't help but wonder if maybe she shouldn't have said anything at all, it clearly made Hermione uncomfortable.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Merry Christmas (Pt. 1)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is a little bit long, so its split into two.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pansy was entirely content to sleep through the morning, maybe even through the afternoon and the night festivities, but apparently <em> someone </em> had other plans, because she was greeted with a weight on her back, very rudely awakening her from her slumber.  She probably would’ve hit them, were it not for the fact that she immediately smelt Hermione’s perfume and relaxed, and then tensed because Hermione was <em> on top </em> of her. </p><p>“Merry Christmas!”  The other witch whispered in her ear, and Pansy kept her face buried in her pillow, not wanting to give away the fact that she was probably blushing a little bit.  Something about not being at school, not having so many prying eyes around, it made Hermione more affectionate, and it was driving Pansy mad.</p><p>“Mmph.  Sleep.  I’m trying to have it.”  Pansy groaned, trying to come across like she was still painfully exhausted, but it didn’t work.  That's on her for befriending the smart girl.</p><p>“Pansy <em> get up </em> .”  Hermione insisted and Pansy tried to glare at her out of one eye but it didn’t work..  All she wanted to do was sleep, she felt that that was a valid way to spend Christmas.  It's not like she’s a part of this family anyways. </p><p>“Nothing in the world can possess me to get off this couch.  I'm comfortable.”  Pansy mumbled, very aware of her voice cracks from sleep.  Hermione seemed to be thinking before she leaned back down to Pansy’s ear.</p><p>“If you don’t stand up in the next 15 seconds I will call Ron over here and ask his opinions on every member of the Chudley Cannons and he will give them.  In detail.” She whispered, and Pansy’s eyes shot open as she shot to her feet, knocking Hermione off of her in the process, but managing to catch her by the waist before she fell.  When she realized just how close their faces were to each other, she quickly let go, hoping against hope that Hermione <em> hadn’t </em> seen the falter in her movements. </p><p>“No, don’t!  I’m up.  I’m up.  <em> That </em> is cruel and unusual punishment.”  Pansy insisted, trying her best to look hurt, but Hermione merely shook her head and shoved Pansy lightly. </p><p>“It was a threat of punishment, I did nothing to you.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy was about to give her a retort, but she was stopped in her tracks when she took in Hermione’s outfit.</p><p>“You’re wearing my sweater…”  She whispered in awe.  It looked <em> good </em> on Hermione, better than it ever had on Pansy, she thought.  It was a little long on her, but somehow it worked.  Hermione looked thoroughly embarrassed and refused to meet Pansy’s waiting gaze. </p><p>“Oh!  Sorry, did you want it back?  I got cold and-.”  Pansy cut her off and reached down, taking both of Hermione’s hands in hers in an attempt to quiet her for a moment.  It worked, and Hermione <em> finally </em> looked her in the eyes.  She was so warm, at least to Pansy… light and good, that's all she could think when she touched Hermione. </p><p>“No, you can wear it.  Looks nice on you, after all.”  Pansy said with a small smile, and dropped Hermione’s hand.  The other witch fought off a smile and shook her head.</p><p>“Green is <em> not </em> my color.”  Hermione said in a quiet voice, and Pansy shrugged.  She thought green looked amazing on her, but that could also be the fact that Hermione could be wearing a plastic bag and she’d look fantastic. </p><p>“I don’t know… I think it looks really nice.”  She insisted, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but Pansy thought she saw an inclining of a smile playing on the edge of her lips.</p><p>“Whatever, Parkinson.  Bill and Fleur are arriving today, so expect the noise level to increase.”  Hermione warned, and Pansy groaned and rubbed her eyes with a yawn.  That was one thing she hadn’t accounted for was the amount of noise that occurred when nine people were under one roof.  Ginny’s twin older brothers had arrived the night before, and it just became a total racket.  That was something that Pansy wasn’t used to, the sound of joy and family filling a house, she’d never had that.  But that didn’t mean she didn’t crave quiet.</p><p>“Oh.  <em> Wonderful </em> .”  Pansy groaned, and Hermione gently nudged her shoulder with a laugh. </p><p>“It's not that bad, come on.”  Hermione said, and Pansy went to respond, but instead shivered because now that her body was up and awake, it was far too cold in here.</p><p>“<em> Merlin </em> it's cold in here.”  She whispered, not thinking Hermione was listening to that, but she felt a warm hand rubbing her arm and saw the other girl looking at her with some concern in her eyes. </p><p>“You’re always so cold.” Hermione said, and Pansy rolled her eyes, before realizing that was a comment of concern and not one of ridicule.  Because it really could’ve gone either way.</p><p>“Yes, but-.”  Hermione cut her off and wrapped an arm around her back, making Pansy anxious all over again.</p><p>“Do you need your sweater back?”  Hermione asked, and Pasny shook her head.  She didn’t want Hermione to feel put out by this.</p><p>“No, I can make do.”  She insisted, and Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but she didn’t get the chance before Mrs. Weasley came into the room, a large smile on her face as she walked over to the two girls.</p><p>“Oh!  Pansy, good, you’re awake dear.  Would you mind coming with me for a moment?”  She asked, and Pansy raised her eyebrow at Hermione who shrugged and let go of her arm.</p><p>“Um… alright, Mrs. Weasley.”  Pansy said, following the woman into a hall area with a little bit more privacy.  Mrs. Weasley pulled something out from behind her and handed it to Pansy.</p><p>“I made this for you… but I’m not entirely sure if it's your size, so I wanted to give it to you early.”  She said, and Pansy unfurrowed the cloth in her hand to reveal a green knitted sweater with a black ‘P’ on the chest.  Her cheeks were burning as she looked at it because it was very thoughtful, but when would she wear this?</p><p>“You didn’t have to-.”  Pansy started, but Mrs. Weasley patted her arm lightly to silence her before shaking her head.</p><p>“Nonsense.  Think of us as your family now, Harry does… so does Hermione, even without her dating my Ron.”  Mrs. Weasley reminded her, and Pansy grimaced.  She felt bad on some level, for being the reason they had ended, no matter how many times Hermione told her that she wasn’t to blame.</p><p>“Right…”  She trailed off, and Mrs. Weasley gestured to the sweater.</p><p>“Try it on, dear.”  She gently instructed, and Pansy wanted to protest, but the waiting, loving looking in Mrs. Weasley’s eyes made her hesitate.  Finally, she gave in and pulled the sweater over her head, shocked that it fit her - a little big, but that was how she preferred them to fit-.</p><p>“It fits perfectly, Mrs. Weasley… thank you.”  Pansy said, her voice a little thick with emotion.  She’d never had a handmade gift before, it was… thoughtful.  She felt two arms around her and looked down in surprise at the fact that she was being <em> hugged </em> by Mrs. Weasley.  Her own parents hadn’t hugged her since she was 10. </p><p>“Merry Christmas, dear.  I’m glad that you’ve come into our lives.”  Mrs. Weasley said as she took a step back, with a voice so sweet and kind that it made Pansy’s heart ache.  She’d known this woman for all of a few days and she’d already shown Pansy more love and compassion then the woman who claimed to be her mother and shared her blood ever had.</p><p>“Glad I did too.”  Pansy said, and the weird thing was… she meant it.  It didn’t matter that she’d spent half of this holiday already just fighting with Ron about random things, because they’ll never see eye to eye, or that every day Ginny seems to get closer and closer to realizing that Pansy had been bluffing in Hogsmeade, or that Potter stared at her with an odd amount of curiosity, like he didn’t know if he could trust her… none of that mattered, she was just happy to be here.</p><p>“Now go back out there, I interrupted your conversation.”  Mrs. Weasley said, lightly patting Pansy’s shoulder.</p><p>“Alright.”  She said, flashing one last smile at her before going back to the living room and tapping Hermione’s shoulder.  She whipped around and raised an eyebrow before taking in what Pansy was wearing and covering her mouth.  Pansy felt the dread set almost immediately.  She looked ridiculous.</p><p>“Oh my god that looks adorable on you.”  Hermione said, a smile spreading across her face, and Pansy felt her cheeks get warm as she raised a hand to keep Hermione quiet.  She was not going to be able to live this down.</p><p>“<em> Don’t </em> .”  Pansy said, trying her hardest to sound firm, but it was hard to take someone wearing a hand-knitted sweater with a ‘P’ on the chest seriously and she had accepted that part of her fate.  Hermione rubbed her hands together and her smile turned mischievous. </p><p>“I wish I had a camera because I want to immortalize this moment.  The unflappable, perfect Pansy Parkinson, standing in sweatpants and a homemade sweater with bedhead and no makeup, it's so perfect I could cry.  Hold on.  Ginny!”  Hermione called out.  Oh yeah, just have more people join in on this moment of ridicule.</p><p>“Yeah?”  She heard the girl call from somewhere in the house and Hermione chuckled, as though this was all part of some master plan.</p><p>“Does your family have a camera?”  Hermione called and it was silent for a few minutes before Ginny came around the corner, looking down at the camera in her hands, as if she was trying to tell if it still worked.  Pansy hoped to Merlin that it didn’t.</p><p>“Of course we do, why-Oh my <em> Circe </em> .”  Ginny said, covering her mouth in surprise and yep, Pansy wanted to disappear <em> right </em> through the floor.  This was the most mortifying thing to ever happen to her, and there was a time that she thought about marrying <em> Draco. </em> <b> <em>willingly</em> </b> . </p><p>“Right?!  It's so perfect.”  Hermione whispered with excitement </p><p>“You were right to ask for the camera, this needs to be something we remember.”  Ginny mumbled back to Hermione, an equal smile spreading across her face.  If people could die of embarrassment, she’d already be dead.</p><p>“Guys come on-.”  Pansy protested, but it was clear neither one of them were listening to her as the camera got raised up to Ginny’s eye.</p><p>“Smile!”  Ginny said brightly, and Pansy flipped off the camera, but did plaster a fake smile on her face as it clicked.  When it printed out, Ginny handed it to Hermione, who studied it carefully, her smile getting impossibly bigger.</p><p>“What are you going to do with that?”  Pansy asked nervously and Hermione looked at her and shrugged.</p><p>“Put it up by my bed in my dorm.  I don’t have any photos of you or with you, it's almost like unless I see you in person you aren’t even there.  Quite an odd way to have a friendship if you ask me.”  Hermione said and Pansy rolled her eyes.  While the girl had a point, it wasn’t a point that made Pansy want to let her have the photo any more.</p><p>“Fine but I could give you far better photos of myself-.”  She tried, but Hermione was quick to shake her head and sigh.</p><p>“No, you can’t.  Trust me.  I love this photo so much… look at how your expression changes…” Hermione said, showing Pansy the photo.  The camera had caught the moment between Pansy looking stricken, and her fake smiling and flipping Ginny off.  Great, that's the movement Hermione wants to immortalize in her dorm, fine.  Not like Pansy will ever had to see it again that way.</p><p>“I hate that <em> so </em> much.”  Pansy said, all but pushing the photo down and out of her face.  Hermione gave her a knowing smile and patted her shoulder. <br/>“Well, that's too bad because I’m keeping it.”  She said, the fake sweetness all but oozing out of her voice.  Pansy had to admit she was a little impressed, doing that voice was a play right out of her own book.</p><p>“Fine, fine.  Do your worst to my reputation.”  Pansy said dismissively and Hermione smiled and tucked the picture away, looking Pansy face on.</p><p>“Do you want to go for a walk?  Before everyone gets here?”  She asked, and Pansy thought for a moment.  It beat having to stay inside and dealing with Ron’s wrongly placed anger at Pansy.</p><p>“Sure.”  Pansy said, and Hermione smiled and held out her hand to Pansy with a raised eyebrow, like she was about to take Pansy on some exciting adventure.  Its the <em>burrow</em> how exciting can it be?</p><p>“Come on then.” She said and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She is, in Pansy’s opinion, being a bit ridiculous.</p><p>“One moment, I’m gonna grab my scarf.”  Pansy said, ducking down to go through her bag, and once she felt it, she threw on the scarf without even looking at it and turned back to Hermione, who was staring at her with a small smile.</p><p>“...Pansy.”  Hermione said finally and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  What was with the dramatics of that pause?</p><p>“What?”  She asked, and Hermione pointed to the scarf wrapped around Pansy’s neck at the moment.</p><p>“That's my scarf.”  Hermione stated, and Pansy paled as she looked down to see the color, and sure enough Hermione was right.  It must’ve gotten thrown in there by accident, and she had a feeling if Ron saw it he'd lose his shit.</p><p>“Shit.  I grabbed the wrong one from my dorm when I left and-.” Hermione cut her off and gently rubbed her arm to calm her down.</p><p>“Oh I don’t mind.  I like how you look in my house colors.”  She insisted and Pansy let out a long sigh and nodded.  Of course Hermione wasn’t weirded out by it, she’d <em>given </em>Pansy the scarf outright.</p><p>“Right, right I forgot.”  Pansy mumbled, and let Hermione pull her out the door and into the cold.  The second they were outside the felt chilled to the bone, not a situation she’d recommend to anyone.</p><p>“So.. are you liking it so far?”  Hermione asked, breaking their silence and Pansy looked at her in confusion for a moment before realizing she was referring to the holiday.</p><p>“It's a million times better than holidays at my old home.” Pansy said and Hermione grinned and rested her head on Pansy’s arm as they continued to walk.</p><p>“I’m glad… you deserve a good Christmas.  Speaking of… here.”  Hermione pressed a small box into her hand with a smile.  Pansy felt the guilt set in in her stomach because she’d meant to buy her friend's gifts but she’d been so busy that she forgot entirely.</p><p>“I didn’t get the chance to-.”  Hermione waved her off</p><p>“Don’t, don’t, don’t.  I got it because I wanted to, not because I expected something in return.  Open it.”  She insisted, and Pansy took a deep breath and opened the box, gasping at its contents.  A silver necklace with a drop of moonstone at the bottom.</p><p>“Hermione, this is beautiful.”  Pansy whispered, knowing she probably sounded like she was going to cry.  This had already been an overwhelming day, with Mrs. Weasley’s gift, but this was just too much.</p><p>“Here, let me help you put it on.”  Hermione said, taking it out of Pansy’s hand and walking around behind her.  She slowly slid the necklace over Pansy’s shoulders and clasped it around her neck, grazing the skin with her fingertips.  Pansy was grateful for the cold air when she shivered, it was easy to blame it on that.</p><p>“I love it… like so much.”  Pansy said, touching the necklace lightly and Hermione chuckled at her.</p><p>“Well, that was the intent.” She said and Pansy rolled her eyes and picked up some snow, chucking it at Hermione who just <em>barely </em>dodged out of the way of it so that it wouldn’t actually hit her on the leg.</p><p>“Shut up.”  Pansy mumbled, and went to start walking again, when Hermione’s small chuckle interrupted her, and she turned around to see what might have caused that, but she still couldn't tell.</p><p>“It suits you.”  Hermione said, and Pansy looked at her with utter confusion because she could not figure out what the other witch was on about.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione walked up to her and examined the necklace more closely as she spoke.  Pansy did her best to ignore the way it felt when Hermione’s fingers accidentally brushed the top of Pansy’s chest into her neck.</p><p>“The necklace.  It suits you.”  She said quietly, and Pansy swallowed, her throat bobbing mere centimeters away from Hemrione’s fingers.</p><p>“Thanks, ‘Mione.”  Pansy responded, shivering a little bit, which alarmed Hermione and was probably the reason she kept trying to call me inside and you didn’t see.</p><p>“Are you cold?  We can head back if you are.”  Hermione said, and Pansy shook her head.  She liked it out here, it was quite peaceful, the exact opposite of what it was like inside the Burrow right now.</p><p>“No, it's actually not too bad out… plus I like it out here.  It's a lot quieter.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione looked a bit worried about the chill, but did agree with what Pansy had commented on about the atmosphere.</p><p>“Mhm.  The snow makes the whole area just gorgeous.  But we should make sure we head back with enough time that you can get dressed, because something tells me Mrs. Weasley wouldn’t be too keen on you wearing pajamas when Bill is bringing his fiance.”  Hermione explained and Pansy nodded.  She’d noticed that the stress level of the burrow was at a very high number right here, damn near dangerous.</p><p>“Mrs. Weasley does seem a little stressed about all that.”  Pansy said, and she’d noticed that the second Mrs. Weasley had given her the sweater, she’d been back to work.  She was aiming to please and Hermione agreed with what Pansy was thinking.</p><p>“She’s just nervous because Bill is the first kid to get engaged.  I think she wants to make a good impression.”</p><p>“I can’t imagine her <em>not</em> making a good impression.” Pansy said, and she’d expected Hermione to agree, but instead the other witch laughed and shook her head, as though what Pansy said was ridiculous.  It wasn’t, it was just an opinion based on what she’d seen so far.</p><p>“Oh, trust me.  She has her moments.”  Hermione said with a snort, and Pansy smiled whne she thought of an idea of what I was going to do.</p><p>“Is that where Ron gets his diva moments from.”  Pansy said wisely, and Hermione’s jaw dropped and she scoffed, crossing her arms.</p><p>“Ron is not a diva.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy rolled her eyes and shook her head, trudging up ahead of Hermione just by a bit.</p><p>“Mhm, whatever you say.” Pansy said, laughing when a snowball came flying at her cheek.  Worth it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Christmas Pt. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pansy wasn’t sure exactly what she was supposed to wear for a Christmas dinner at the Burrow, but she assumed something more casual than what she used to wear at home.  Obviously she still wanted to look nice, just not like she was going to be attending someone’s funeral.  She settled on a skirt and a sweater, not even doing her makeup.  She wasn’t sure what it was, but something about being here made her feel… loved.  Granted, Pansy barely knew these people, but the fact that they’d opened their door to her said something.  She walked out of the bathroom to head downstairs and ran dead into someone, and she knew immediately just from the muscle memory of the person, grabbing her shoulders right and then left to steady her, little things like that, that it was Hermione.</p><p>“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”  Pansy said as Hermione let go of her shoulders and shook her head, readjusting her hair.</p><p>“That's on both of us… you look really nice.”  She said, and Pansy couldn’t help the small smile because that felt genuine, Hermione’s comment.  Pansy surveyed the other girl and felt her throat get dry because how did Hermione make a sweater and a pair of jeans look like it was something designer?  The logic of it alluded Pansy.</p><p>“Thanks. So do you.”  Pansy said, and Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment, clearly thinking about something.  It made Pansy a little uneasy that her thinking had to happen while staring at her.</p><p>“Did you forget your makeup at school or something because… It's occurring to me that before this trip I’d never seen you without makeup on.”  Hermione finally said, and Pansy felt a twinge of panic.  Did she think that Pansy looked <em> bad </em> without makeup?  The voice quieted a bit when she realized from the look on Hermione’s face that it was honestly just a simple question. </p><p>“No, I have it with just… haven’t really wanted to wear it.  Plus it's good to let the skin breathe sometimes.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione sighed as she continued looking over every inch of Pansy’s face.</p><p>“You’re lucky.”  Hermione finally said, after making Pansy feel like she was the subject of some kind of insane scrutiny.  Pansy snorted and shook her head.</p><p>“In what way am I <em> possibly </em> lucky?”  Pansy asked.  She certainly never felt lucky so it would be interesting to hear someone else's theory.  Hermione shrugged at her </p><p>“You’re gorgeous even without any makeup.  It's not fair.”  She said, and Pansy couldn't help the small smile that came across her face.  This was the second time this holiday that Hermione had alluded to her being pretty, that had to count for something, right?  But also... it didn't feel wonderful that Hermione couldn't see how she looked to other people.  Breathtaking was the only word that came to Pansy's mind.</p><p>“‘Mione, you’re literally stunning, don’t talk like that.”  Pansy said softly, rubbing the other girl's arm.  Hermione sighed and leaned against the wall before she spoke.</p><p>“Right, well, I need to freshen up.  I’ll meet you back downstairs?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded, giving her an easy smile.  Being here made her feel more comfortable.</p><p>“Absolutely.”  She said, and once Hermione was out of sight, she turned and walked down to the main level of the house.  It wasn't really that it was <em>more </em>packed, just that people seemed... closer together as Pansy walked over to get a drink.  An older man, obviously the older brother that Hermione had mentioned coming in today, stopped her with a smile on his face. </p><p>“And who is this?”  Bill asked, and Pansy smiled and held out her hand for him to shake.  Finally, a Weasley without an opinion on her, this should be fun.</p><p>“Pansy Parkinson, charmed.”  She said, and he nodded, and shook her hand rather firmly.  He seemed... different from Ron, different from the twins too, like he had a good head on his shoulders.</p><p>“Well, aren’t you something else… are you one of the boy’s girlfriends?”  The woman, who Pansy did quickly recognize as Fleur Delacour, asked and Pansy couldn't help the grimace that came across her face.</p><p>“Oh <em> Merlin </em> no. Just a friend of Ginny’s from school, I didn't have anywhere to go-.”  Bill cut her off and shook his head. </p><p>“Oh mum hates when that happens.”  He said and Pansy nodded.  She knew that from Ginny, it was the whole reason for any of this.</p><p>“The second she heard about it she insisted I come along.”  Pansy explained and Bill smiled widely again, gesturing around to his childhood home.</p><p>“And?”  He asked, clearly actually wanting to hear whatever answer Pansy had to offer.  It was so different from her home, but she still liked it.  But also, that answer alluded to far too much about who she was.</p><p>“It’s nice… homey.”  She insisted, and Bill went to speak again when Pansy felt a warm hand slide into hers and she turned to see Hermione.</p><p>“Sorry, do you mind if I steal her?”  Hermione asked, and Bill shook his head at the young witch, taking a step back.</p><p>“Not at all, Hermione.  You look lovely this year.”  He said, and Hermione gave him a small smile and nodded at both of them.</p><p>“Thank you, Bill.  Fleur.”  Hermione said, and pulled Pansy away by her arm with such speed that Pansy had to laugh.  What was so urgent that she had to be yanked away from a conversation?</p><p>“What?”  She asked, assuming there was something important as they leaned on the opposite wall, but Hermione merely smiled at her.</p><p>“I just feel like I haven’t seen you much since the beginning of the party.”  Hermione said and Pansy chuckled and shrugged.  The other girl wasn't wrong, Pansy had been talking to Bill and Fleur the whole time she'd been down here, but that hadn't been all that long.</p><p>“You haven’t, I’ve been mingling.”  Pansy said and Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she spoke.</p><p>“I know but…” She let herself trail off without finishing her sentence.  Not something Hermione was known for, thats for sure.</p><p>“But?”  Pansy prompted, and Hermione shook her head and looked away.</p><p>“Nothing, its dumb.”  She muttered, and Pansy had to let out a laugh.  Hermione's statements were always pretty far from dumb</p><p>“I haven’t known you for <em> that </em> long but I know whatever comes out of your mouth is not going to be dumb.”  Pansy said, the amusement pretty clear on her face.  Rarely was Hermione unable to find words. </p><p>“Well-.”  Hermione started, but was cut off by Mrs. Weasley approaching them and coming to a stop right in front of them.  She looked more somber than what Pansy had seen so far.</p><p>“Hermione dear, do you mind if I borrow Pansy for just a moment?”</p><p>“Hm?  Oh, not at all Molly.”  Hermione said, not seeming to pick up on the chance in the older woman's demeanor.</p><p>“Amazing, thank you.”  Mrs. Weasley said, and led Pansy away, around a corner.  Almost immediately Pansy could sense she was in some kind of trouble, but she didn't exactly know why.</p><p>“Yes Mrs.  Weasley?”  She asked, feeling the anxiety tighten in her chest.</p><p>“Pansy, some things about you have… come to light when I was talking to Ron earlier and I want to talk to you about them.”  Mrs. Weasley said, her tone darkening significantly from the one she'd used to greet Hermione.  Pansy felt like the breath was stolen from her lungs because she was not prepared completely for this confrontation.</p><p>“I knew this might be coming…” Pansy mumbled, and Mrs. Weasley nodded, crossing her arms across her chest as she arched an eyebrow.</p><p>“Then let's talk.   First off, bullying my children is unacceptable.”  Mrs. Weasley said, her voice coming out dangerous, and Pansy nodded.  She was a bit of a wanker to Ron, and she knew it.  But it was because he was the same damn way.</p><p>“I understand that, but I actually didn’t start the bullying, it started with a disagreement about if I was actually working with Pansy or if I was going to be hurting her in some way.  Yes, I’ve stood idly by when Draco’s done things before, and that <em> was </em> a shit move of mine, but I never did anything unless I was provoked.”  Pansy explained and Mrs. Weasley shook her head.  Yeah, she was guessing that wouldn't gain her much back. </p><p>“Either way, being provoked or not, that needs to stop.”  She instructed and Pansy nodded. She was addressing her temper.</p><p>“I will work on it.”  Pansy insisted, and that seemed to satisfy the woman, who moved onto her next order of business.</p><p>“Good, second off… I was unaware that you were the reason my Ron got broken up with, is that true?”  Mrs. Weasley asked, and Pansy bit the inside of her cheek.  She hadn't orchestrated it, of course but she guessed that she'd played a small part in it.</p><p>“It is, but-.”  She was quickly cut off</p><p>“You can stay in this house until the end of the break, and then I don’t think I want you back here.  I was wary to begin with, but Ginny and Hermione had so many good things to say about you that I let it slide, but knowing that you’re responsible for the end of their relationship puts you in a whole new light.”  Mrs. Weasley said, her voice devoid of all emotion.  In a way, Pansy could see why.  Hermione would've been an ideal daughter in law.</p><p>“Wait, I didn’t like… tell Hermione to break up with him… can you at least let me explain, I’m not asking you to change your mind, ma’am I just want you to hear why I was the way I was about things.”  Pansy said quickly and for a terrifying moment she thought that Mrs. Weasley was going to say no, but that wasn't the case.</p><p>“Fine.  Talk.”  Mrs. Weasley said, and she still looked… Pansy wouldn’t say angry, she looked more betrayed.  Pansy could see why, when the woman had opened her doors to Pansy and how she’d treated the people in this family was unacceptable. </p><p>“Thank you.  The reason they broke up <em> includes </em> me, but it isn’t because I said anything about it at that moment.  Hermione broke up with him because he was taunting me about being outed and she didn’t appreciate it.  I did warn him in a not very polite way to knock it off, but at the end of the day I didn’t do anything to him.”  Pansy insisted, and Mrs. Weasley’s eyes narrowed down to slits as she shook her head. </p><p>“I don’t believe you.”  She said in a low voice, and Pansy’s heart sank.  She’d told the truth, and she still wasn’t believed.  She was about to apologize and go pack her things when she heard someone clear their throat.  Ron was leaning against the wall a couple of feet away, looking a little sheepish.</p><p>“No, that part’s true, mum.  I could’ve been more specific.”  He mumbled, and Mrs. Weasley's face fell as she turned to her son in shock.</p><p>“Ronald!  That wasn’t-.”  Pansy was quick to interrupt, not wanting this to suddenly turn into Mrs. Weasley berating her son for something she had done wrong, it didn't exactly seem fair, not on Christmas.</p><p>“Mrs. Weasley, Ron’s dislike of me is a completely valid thing, he and I see eye to eye on nothing, and it leads to a lot of arguments, mostly arguments over stupid things, but I never meant to interfere with his relationship.  Ron, I don’t know if you know that but its true.  I’m Hermione’s friend, I want her to be happy, and if you’re what makes her happy… So be it.”  Pansy said, the words feeling sour in her mouth.  Ron seemed to be confused by this, with good reason up until today she'd done everything to keep them apart it seemed.  But it wasn't her place, she knew that.</p><p>“But that day in the hall-.”  Pansy cut him off and shook her head.  How she'd acted that day was completely out of line and she knew that.  </p><p>“I was annoyed that she was late for rounds, and I overreacted and I am sorry.  I was still in a really bad place, I hadn’t gotten a real apology from Draco about what he’d done and half the school was still mocking me about being…. The way I am.”  Pansy said, still struggling to actually use the word.  It felt wrong to say it, like her father was going to apparate here just to tell her what a disappointment she was.  Ron didn't seem to have that same issue.</p><p>“What, gay?”  He asked, and Pansy winced away.  She knew he meant it without any ill intent, but it was still terrifying to hear people say it.</p><p>“Yeah, that.  Anyways, if you still have feelings for her, and you think there’s a chance to make her happy, then go take it, I won’t get in the way.”  Pansy said, and immediately she wanted to take it back.  It felt weird sanctioning their relationship.</p><p>“That's… uncharacteristic-.”  Ron started, clearly a bit dubious, but Pansy shook her head.</p><p>“People can change, Ronald.  Now go.”  Pansy said, trying to keep her biting tone to a minimum.  It wasn't for another minute or so that she realized that Mrs. Weasley was looking at her with a renewed curiosity.</p><p>“I did not expect you to do that, dear.”  She said softly, and Pansy sighed and shrugged.  She hadn't expected it either.</p><p>“If I’m being honest…. Neither did I.  But some of the stuff I’ve said to him hasn’t always been fair.  Some of the stuff he’s said to me hasn’t always been fair.  It’s the give and take of being house rivals, and me being friends with a bigot who’s trying to change.”  Pansy explained and Mrs. Weasley seemed to be thinking about something because she didn't respond right away.</p><p>“If you can keep up <em> this </em>attitude, if you can manage to not fight with my boy anymore, then maybe I’ll consider not revoking your offer to come here next year.”  Mrs. Weasley said, but Pansy had already made up her mind that she could never come back here.  She'd messed this up too.</p><p>“Thank you, Mrs. Weasley, that would mean a lot.”  She lied, and Mrs. Weasley did offer her a small smile and patted her back.</p><p>“Now go back, dear.  I do believe you and Hermione were talking when I pulled you away.”  She said, and Pansy nodded, walking back into where Hermione was standing, exactly where she had been left.</p><p>“Hey.”  She said, and Hermione looked over at her with an inquisitive smile on her face.</p><p>“Hey.  Question?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed and nodded.  Might as well get questioned more tonight, get it all in while she can.</p><p>“Yeah, whats up?”  Pansy asked and Hermione sighed, obviously thinking about the right way to phrase this.  Seemed she always did that, hardly ever did she just say exactly what was on her mind.</p><p>“Did you give your blessing for Ron to ask me out again?”  She finally asked and Pansy nodded.  She didn't exactly see how that was an issue, she was simply trying to help fix what she had broken.</p><p>“Yeah, I did.  Mrs. Weasley called me on the carpet on a few things and it got me thinking… who you date and don’t date is none of my business.  Ron clearly isn’t the guy he is to me all the time, there has to be a reason you two have been friends for years, right?” Pansy said, casting her glance over to Hermione, who was chewing on her lip a bit as she listened.  She seemed to do that more and more now.</p><p>“Right.”  Hermione said and Pansy sighed.  Here comes the part she doesn't want to say because it feels wrong.</p><p>“So if he’s who makes you happy, then so be it.”  Pansy said, barely keeping herself from having it come out sarcastically.  Hermione sighed and shook her head, pushing herself off of the wall for a moment.</p><p>“There was a time when Ron made me happy.  He made me so happy that I couldn’t believe it, honestly.  But that time passed, and it was already passing when you and I started to get closer, what he tried to say to you was a catalyst yes, but I realized that day when I was kissing him that that <em> feeling </em>  was gone.  I had needed to know if I was sure, that's why that day even happened.” Hermione explained, and Pansy felt her entire throat dry up.  Hermione didn't want to be with him... she was over him.  Pansy couldn't believe it.</p><p>“Oh.”  That was all Pansy could say, because she had honestly expected to come back here and find Hermione in a relationship, but that hadn't happened.</p><p>“Yeah.  If I  wanted to get back together with him, I would have already.  It may have seemed, to both of you, that I was picking a side but that wasn’t my intent.  I’m perfectly capable of making my own friendship and relationship choices, please take care to remember that.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy nodded.  She hadn't intended on that but she could totally see how that was how it came across.</p><p>“So when Ron asked you out again…” Pansy inquired, and Hermione shrugged.</p><p>“I told him he was sweet for asking, but I just didn’t feel that way about him anymore… I think this might be the first time he truly heard me.” Hermione said, and Pansy chewed on her lip before answering.</p><p>“That's good… right?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged.</p><p>“It means we can hopefully get back to the friendship we had <em> before </em> we started dating.  I was scared that we’d never get there again.”  Hermione </p><p>“I’m glad that’s working out for you.”  She said, and really?  She thought about it and thats <em>still </em>what she decided on?  It sounded so insincere and Pansy knew it. </p><p>“Me too.”  Hermione said, and it was silent for a moment before Pansy could no longer take it.</p><p>“But I’ve got a question.”  She said, and Hermione looked over, a little dubious.</p><p>“Whats up?”  She asked and Pansy took a deep breath.  How did she ask this and not sound weird.</p><p>“If you didn’t go to Slughorn’s party with Cormac to make <em> Ron </em> jealous, then why go with him?” Pansy asked.  it was a fair question, because Cormac was so far... below Hermione that the pairing didn't make much sense.  Hermione sighed and shook her head. </p><p>“Well, as I said that night I needed a date and I thought Harry and I could go as friends but he was already taking Luna, and I knew Cormac had some weird crush on me, so I said what the hell.”  Hermione explained and Pansy nodded.  The logic still didn't make much sense, if she didn't like Cormac, even in a friendly way, and she wasn't trying to make someone jealous, then why go with him in the first place?</p><p>“Oh.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked at her with a smirk.  Well, that could mean a whole <em>number </em>of things. </p><p>“And, Ron isn’t the only person in Hogwarts who I would like, Pans.”  Hermione muttered, and Pansy felt her heart speed up as she raised an eyebrow.  Was there someone Hermione was interested in right now?</p><p>“And?”  Pansy asked, nearly holding her breath at this point.</p><p>“Maybe I have feelings for someone right now.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy felt like her heart was stopping in her chest.</p><p>“Who?”  She managed to ask, and Hermione gave her an odd look and shook her head.</p><p>“I’m <em> not </em> telling you that.” Hermione said with a chuckle and Pansy clasped her hands together (Like she'd seen muggles do when they prayed) and looked at her </p><p>“Come on, when have I ever been not trustworthy-.”  Pansy started, and Hermione smirked and raised an eyebrow.  Oh, sue her for having a goddamn past!</p><p>“Well-,”  Pansy held up a hand to silence her, and fought the small smirk on her face.</p><p>“Let me try that again.  When have I not been trustworthy with you <em> this </em> year.  Every year is different.”  Pansy pointed out, and Hermione chuckled and rested her head on her shoulder.  Pansy tried not to notice how good she smelled, tried to ignore the amortentita aspect of her.  Didn't feel fair to bring it up on Christmas. </p><p>“It's not that I don’t trust you, its that I… you’re the one person I can’t tell this to.”  Hermione explained and that hit Pansy like a knife in the side.  Why couldn't Hermione tell her?  And then the even more painful thought... was Hermione the reason Draco was acting like this?  Maybe <em>she</em> was Draco's secret... but that made no sense considering they could hardly be in the same room together still. </p><p>“Oh… Alright.”  Pansy muttered, and shrugged Hermione off her shoulder, leaving the other looking concerned.</p><p>“Don’t be like that, Pans.  You’ll know in time.”  Hermione assured her, and Pansy looked away, a little bit hurt.  Sure, she was keeping a secret from Hermione as well, but that was for her own good.  This just felt cruel.</p><p>“I get it, it's fine.”  Pansy said.  Merlin, what a stupid thing to be getting all worked up about right now.</p><p>“Pans-.”  Hermione tried, but she stopped herself just as quick.</p><p>“‘Mione!  You never introduced us to your friend.”  A man called, and Pansy looked over to see the twins, Fred and George, but she couldn't tell them apart.  She'd seen them the night before, but hadn't spoken to them yet.  One of them looked at her with scrutiny and raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Wait… I recognize you… aren’t you that Slytherin girl who’s all but obsessed with Malfoy?”  The man said, and Pansy shrugged, smirking as she took a sip of her drink.  She’d been waiting to use this joke for <em> so </em> long, and since she was leaving the second she got the chance, why not. </p><p>“What can I say, people get desperate when they’re in the closet, so I plead temporary insanity on that count.”  Pansy joked, and the man nodded, a smile spreading across his face</p><p>“Sharp tongue.  I can appreciate that.”  He said, and Hermione cleared her throat and flashed a tight smile.</p><p>“Anyways!  Fred, George, this is Pansy Parkinson.  Pansy, this is Fred and George, you probably saw them around Hogwarts…” Hermione said and Pansy nodded.  The two twins were all but notorious for the shit that they'd pulled.</p><p>“That I did.  Pleased to make your acquaintance.”  Pansy said, and George smiled and clapped Hermione on the shoulder, leaning down near her ear.</p><p>“She’s <em> brilliant </em> , ‘Mione.  You’ve got a keeper there, yeah?”  George said, throwing a wink Pansy's way.  It was a nice, joking one, clearly no ill intent so Pansy let it slide.  She felt Hermione's arm slide around her waist and immediately straightened at the new contact. </p><p>“I agree.” Hermione said, and Pansy tried to ignore how her face got hot.  It's just a friend being nice to another friend, she thought, don't make this weird.</p><p>“Oh!  Mum!”  Fred called, and just like that the twins were gone, Pansy turned to Hermione and shrugged.</p><p>“They seem nice.”  Pansy said, and Hermione sighed and shook her head, clearly not listening at all to what Pansy had said.</p><p>“You really are a wanker sometimes, aren’t you?”  Hermione asked, but when Pansy looked at her more closely, she saw that Hermione was smiling.</p><p>“I’m sorry-."  Hermione cut her off and shook her head again, moving a little closer to her.</p><p>“No, I just… I will never understand you, Pansy.”  She said softly, and Pansy raised her eyebrows in surprise at this declaration.</p><p>“What do you mean?”  She asked and Hermione shrugged, but did elbaorate.</p><p>“You’re so private at school, so private with everyone, including me.  You hardly acknowledge the fact that you <em> fancy </em> girls, and yet here you are, meeting two strangers, and you casually mention it.  I don’t understand.”  She said softly and Pansy smiled and patted her arm.  It was how she was raised, don't let people get to know you, but do something to make yourself memorable. </p><p>"I have been told by some I am an enigma, maybe I'm not meant to be understood.  Also you seem to really like that sweater…”. Pansy trailed off, and Hermione seemed to be embarrassed by this comment.  She didn't know why, it was just an observation.</p><p>“I can give it back after the-.”  Pansy shook her head, and smiled.</p><p>“No, consider it a pseudo-christmas present.  And I’ll get you something more sometime soon.”  Pansy said, her chest aching with the lie.  If things went the way Pansy was going to make them go, she may never speak to Hermione again.  But she looked so touched as she smiled up at Pansy that she almost went back on the whole thing.  But then Pansy remembered she'd fucked a lot of stuff up, and it was only right to go.</p><p>“Pansy-.”  Hermione started, but Pansy put her hand lightly on Hermione's shoulder to silence her.</p><p>“It looks far better on you anyways.”  She said softly, and she meant it.  She'd never really been able to make that sweater work, but somehow it looked amazing on Hermione.  Everything looked amazing on her.</p><p>“Oh… thank you.”  Hermione responded, her smile growing a little bit, and Pansy nodded.</p><p>“Of course.”  She said.  They stayed downstairs for a bit longer before everyone started heading to bed, and Hermione yawned and despite her protests, Pansy started to walk her up to Ginny's room.</p><p>“You know, you didn’t have to walk me up here, I know the way.”  Hermione teased and Pansy simply shrugged and looked at her with a small smirk.  It was the last time Pansy was going to be walking Hermione up, but the other girl didn't know that so she kept her mouth shut.</p><p>“Yes, I decided to not leave your side until the party ended, and it ends when you’re behind that door, safe and sound.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione let out a small chuckle, but didn’t slide her arm out from where it was linked with Pansy’s as they started to climb the stairs slowly.</p><p>“You know… you’re far less intimidating like this.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy raised an eyebrow because she was deliberately trying to be <em> less </em> intimidating to Hermione at all times, so it was important to know where she had fallen short. </p><p>“Hm?  When am I intimidating?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged, fiddling with her fingers before she answered, like she was trying to figure out how to phrase it.  Pansy doubted that Hermione was at a loss for words, but her caution was a little odd.</p><p>“At school, when you feel like you have something to prove… I like you both ways, it's like… I’m getting to see all aspects of Pansy Parkinson.”  Hermione said, and Pansy felt like she couldn’t breathe because <em> honestly </em> did she have to use the word ‘like’  it made it seem like she maybe had a chance with Hermione, which wasn’t healthy to think when it so clearly wasn’t true.  Pansy sighed and glanced up at the ceiling, making a sound of surprise at what she saw there.  Wow, Merlin had a sense of humor today. </p><p>“Uh… okay, I’m not trying to be like… weird or anything, but there is mistletoe above us right now.”  Pansy muttered, pointing up.  Hermione followed to where Pansy was pointing, and she could’ve been projecting but she thought she may have seen a ghost of a smile go across Hermione’s face as she looked on her again.</p><p>“That there is.  What do you suppose we do about it?  Knowing the twins, it could explode if we do nothing.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy could’ve been imagining it, but it really seemed like that was a flirty tone.  Not wanting to risk misreading anything, Pansy leaned in and pressed a light kiss to Hermione’s cheek.  Perfectly normal interaction between friends.</p><p>“Goodnight, Granger.  Merry Christmas.”  She whispered as she pulled her face back.  Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around Pansy, which while it wasn’t unwelcome, it <em> was </em> unexpected to the point that Pansy was rigid until the end when she relaxed and gave a quick hug back. </p><p>“Merry Christmas Pansy.  Sleep well, yeah?”  Hermione said, and turned around, walking into Ginny’s room and shutting the door behind her. Once Hermione was gone, Pansy sighed, feeling her chest tighten.  When she got downstairs, it was thankfully empty in the living room because she couldn't do this around people. It had become clear she wasn’t exactly wanted here by more than just Ron, and that was enough for her to understand what she had to do.  She walked downstairs quietly and pulled out a piece of parchment.<br/><br/><em> Everyone- </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> Sorry, had to go.  Enjoy the rest of the holidays. </em> <em> <br/></em> <em> P.S. Someone tell Hermione I’m sorry. </em></p><p>She set it down on the table with a sigh and pulled the sweater Mrs. Weasley had made her out of her bag and folded it up nicely next to the note.  She took off Hermione’s scarf and curled it up on top of the sweater, it didn’t feel right to keep it.  Once it all looked… presentable she sighed and picked her bag back up, creeping towards the door.</p><p>“Going somewhere?”  She heard a voice ask and she jumped and turned around, relieved to see it was only Fleur standing in the living room, her hands on her hips.  She didn't know if she could've gone through with it if were Ginny, or worse Hermione who had come down at that moment.</p><p>“Fleur!  I thought you were… it doesn’t matter.  And yeah, I’m just going to find a way back to Hogwarts… I’ve realized it was wrong of me to come here.”  Pansy admitted, and Fleur looked confused as she took a step forward.</p><p>“The family seemed to like you.”  Fleur said, and Pansy sighed and let her shoulders sag.  The family <em>had </em>liked her, until the person she really was came out.  She knew it was only a matter of time until Ginny didn't want her around either. </p><p>“I haven’t been the person I should be to some people, and to come into this home after the things I’ve said and done… it was wrong of me.”  She whispered, and Fleur sighed and rubbed her eyes as she spoke.</p><p>“Elaborate on that.” Fleur said and Pansy sighed and glanced around.  It felt wrong having this conversation in their living room.</p><p>“Well… can we do this outside the door, I still want to make sure I have a clear way to leave.”  Pansy whispered, and Fleur nodded.  Thank Merlin, the last thing she needed was somebody coming out here because there was noise.</p><p>“Oui.”  She said, and they went outside, Fleur leaning against the door, and Pansy's back to the path.</p><p>“Well… Okay.  It was wrong of me to be so rude the first time Ron approached me about how I was doing my project with Hermione, it was wrong of me to keep snapping at him and antagonizing him after that.  It was wrong of me to not fully stop Draco from saying… you know… the <em> word </em> in relation to Hermione one day in the library.  It was wrong of me to even come here when I knew that this isn’t just my holiday, my presence affects others.  Mrs. Weasley reminded me of that today.  Plus, I don’t want people to have to put up with me for the rest of this year when I’m not even allowed back next year.”  Pansy explained, and she saw the understanding slowly come across Fleurs face.  She reached over and gently rubbed Pansy's arm and in the moment Pansy thought back to fourth year.  That kid would lose her <em>shit </em>if she knew that Fleur would be comforting her in a few years, but somehow... Fleur had lost her allure.  Like obviously she was still pretty just... she didn't hold a flame to how Hermione looked. </p><p>“Molly will calm down, she’s just protective-.”  Fleur started, but Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She had no reason to calm down, Pansy was a wanker</p><p>“She’s right.  I’m a wanker most of the time and I don’t deserve a family as nice as this one.  I deserved what I had before.”  Pansy muttered and Fleur raised an eyebrow, either in surprise or in annoyance.</p><p>“Did Molly <em> say </em> that.”  Fleur asked, sounding more patient then what Pansy was expecting.  She shook her head and sighed. </p><p>“Not in so many words, but it was implied, I felt.”  Pansy explained, and Fleur opened and then closed her mouth, as if she was considering greatly what to say right now.</p><p>“Well, I’m not able to stop you.  But can I say one thing before you go?”  She asked, and Pansy nodded and shivered.  The wind was picking up a little bit.</p><p>“What?” Pansy asked, getting a little cold at this point.  She might have a long way to go before she can get the ride she needs to Hogwarts.  </p><p>“I hope you told Hermione you’re leaving.”  Fleur said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She was fairly certain Hermione wouldn’t care, she’d get over it in a few days.  They’d only been friends for three months, after all.</p><p>“Why would I do that?”  Pansy asked, and Fleur chuckled so softly, like it had to be obvious but it <em>wasn't.</em></p><p>“Because you’re in love with her.”  Fleur said, so sure and so casual that it nearly knocked Pansy over.  It didn't make sense, that someone she hardly knew could see that part of her, it felt wrong.</p><p>“I am not-.”  Pansy protested, but Fleur held up a hand to silence her and began to explain her statement.</p><p>“I’ve never heard of someone switching sides so quickly for someone unless they’re in love.  Not to mention the way you look at her… it's the same way I look at Bill, and I know it.  You, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, have feelings for her.  And this might just break her heart.”  Fleur pointed out and Pansy sighed.  She doubted that she had that much of an impact on Hermione's emotions.</p><p>“I’m doing it for her own good.”  Pansy said softly, and Fleur shook her head, her lips pulled in a tight line.</p><p>“How so?”  Fleur asked, leaning against the doorframe.  Pansy couldn’t exactly explain what she meant by that, she just knew it to be true.  Hermione was far better off without her.</p><p>“It was stupid of me to believe that she and I could be friends, we have so many differences, and she deserves better then me.”  Pansy said, and that seemed to sum it up alright.  Fleur sighed and reached for Pansy’s arm, but she took a step away.</p><p>“Pansy-.”  Pansy cut the other witch off with a shake of her head.  Fleur didn’t <em> know </em> her. She wasn’t sure why she was suddenly acting like she did. </p><p>“No, it's the truth.  Goodnight, Fleur.”  Pansy said, and Fleur shook her head, clearly disappointed in Pansy’s choice.  What was she <em> supposed </em> to do?  Run back into the Burrow and tell Hermione how she felt?  She’d rather die than have that rejection right now. </p><p>“Goodnight, Pansy.  Safe travels.”  Fleur said, and disappeared back into the house.  Pansy turned and sighed, walking off the Burrow property as she tried to remember how exactly to summon the knight bus.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Coming 'Home'</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The knight bus dropped her off at the gates of Hogwarts and Pansy pulled her shirt tighter around her and sighed, shivering a little bit.  It had cooled off even more and she was really regretting the fact that she didn’t have anything warm with her.  But she did in her dorm, if she could just get past Filch, which shouldn’t be too hard.  She made it through the doors and-.</p><p>“Ms. Parkinson?  I thought you were away for the Holidays?”  She heard a voice say, and immediately tensed, turning to see who it was.  She let out a small sigh of relief that it was only a professor, and not Filch… granted it didn’t sound like Filch but you never really know.</p><p>“Professor McGonagall.  It um… it didn’t work out, I had to leave.”  Pansy said, suddenly overly aware of her puffy eyes and blotchy face, courtesy of crying the whole way here.  Professor McGonagall regarded her with some scrutiny as she spoke.</p><p>“You’ve been crying.”  She said and Pansy shook her head, trying her hardest to look okay.  She really didn't need <em>Professor McGonagall </em>pitying her over something so damn stupid. </p><p>“What?!  Professor thats-.”  Pansy didn't get to finish her protest because she was interrupted by McGonagall clucking her tongue and shaking her head, as though what she was seeing was unacceptable.  It wasn't, student's were allowed to cry, it wasn't against any sort of rule that Pansy knew about.</p><p>“It's a real shame, crying on Christmas.  I’ll walk you down to the dungeons myself.”  McGonagall decided and Pansy's face went a little bit pale.  Why would she be nice to Pansy, that made no sense.  She barely paid attention in Transfiguration and she was right shit to about half the Gryffindor house for five years.</p><p>“You really don’t-.”  Pansy tried, but Professor McGonagall only arched an eyebrow, looking a little amused.  It was enough to shut Pansy up because McGonagall was probably the only teacher Pansy was actively afraid of crossing.</p><p>“Would you <em> prefer </em> getting caught by Filch for coming into the castle without letting anyone know <em> and </em> coming in after curfew?  That could be a good 75 points from your house and a couple weekends detention at least.” She said and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  No one in her house would ever forgive her for losing that many house points, she wasn't about to have that happen on a night that was already shit. </p><p>“No ma’am.”  She mumbled and McGonagall nodded and faced forward again, resuming her walk.</p><p>“Then let's walk, Ms. Parkinson.  Why did it not work out?” McGonagall asked, and Pansy swallowed heavily.  She wasn't about to say 'Oh because I'm in love with your prefect and the best student in the grade despite years of treating her like total shit' to a teacher, it felt really wrong.</p><p>“Just… I don’t know.”  She said, and McGonagall didn't believe that for a second.  Pansy didn't expect her to, she'd become complete garbage at lying this year.</p><p>“Yes you do, that's evident.  Holding it in will solve nothing, it will only fester and grow.  And we can’t have that.”  McGonagall said, and Pansy clenched her jaw.  If this wasn't a professor, she already would've decked her.  She'd always hated when people tried to pull emotions out of her, it felt... bad.  Like if she exposed them at that moment the person would use them for some sort of blackmail.  Internalizing your sexuality for over six years will do that to a person.  But something, a much smaller voice inside her, seemed to scream that it was safe to say something, that she needed to get it out.</p><p>“Okay, fine.  I was reminded of how awfully I’ve treated people without really reason and the host told me she didn’t want me there anymore, and so… I left.”  Pansy said, and McGonagall clucked her tongue again and shook her head as they rounded the corner to the stairs.</p><p>“I’m very sorry to hear that.  But there's still something you’re not telling me, you’re holding back.”  McGonagall observed.  Of <em>course </em>she was holding something back, opening up had never really been her strong suit, she'd never had to learn how.  But she wasn't about to tell a professor that. </p><p>“No there isn’t.”  She lied, and McGonagall gave her a significant look before shaking her head.  How had she figured out Pansy was lying?  That didn't even <em>sound </em>like a lie. </p><p>“Ignoring matters of the heart doesn't make them go away.” McGonagall said, and Pansy sighed.  She was lucky that she <em>hadn't </em>been sorted into Gryffindor, her head teacher couldn't give a damn what people thought, she couldn't imagine having an emotionally perceptive teacher in charge of her.  She reckoned it would feel a bit like slow, emotional torture because of being forced to open up. </p><p>“... There’s a girl-.”  Pansy started, and McGonagall chuckled and shook her head, peering at Pansy over her glasses.</p><p>“There always is.  Or a boy.  Sorry, continue.”  She said and Pansy sighed, almost regretting opening up about this, especially to a professor.  But she supposed nobody would know about it.</p><p>“Um… well this girl, she’s like… she’s my opposite in every single way.  She’s kind, and smart and everyone likes her and she’s… she’s like sunshine in human form.  And I’m cold and callous and mean and not even my family wants me.  We’d never work out.”  Pansy said quietly and McGonagall chuckled as they reached the dungeon floor.</p><p>“You don’t know that.”  She pointed out and Pansy offered a wry smile.  She knew it all too well.</p><p>“With all due respect Professor, I think that I do.”  Pansy said, and for a moment, the professor was quiet, as if she was mulling things over in her head about this situation.</p><p>“This girl, I’m assuming she’s a student here with you?”  McGonagall finally asked, and Pansy nodded. 'She's your prefect' was what screamed in her head, but she wasn't about to say that right now, it felt like it would be wrong.</p><p>“I don’t really know any other people my age, Professor.”  Pansy pointed out, and McGonagall did offer a soft smile, which was uncharacteristic towards people like Pansy, but she supposed even the strictest of teachers would be nice to a girl sobbing in the middle of the night.</p><p>“Then she’s seen the way you’ve changed this year, and she knows you’re making progress.”  McGonagall pointed out and Pansy sighed and looked at her with desparation in her eyes.  What if McGonagall was wrong?</p><p>“But what if-.” Pansy started, but Professor McGonagall held one finger up to stop her from talking.</p><p>“Don’t interrupt, Ms. Parkinson.  It's rude.  She would also know that you’re not cold and callous, contrary to what you think.  Everyone has their boundaries, it happens.  And after what happened with your family, it's not a big wonder that you’re so closed off.”  McGonnagal pointed out and Pansy huffed and looked away.  She wasn't closed off, she just didn't love letting new people in all the time.</p><p>“I am not-.”  Pansy started to protest, and the Professor looked at her with some amusement in her eyes.</p><p>“You are, but you don’t have to admit it.  So is this girl the reason you left?  Or is it the host?”  She asked and Pansy sighed.  She's initially wanted to leave because of what Molly had said, it had heightened her feelings of being a burden, but the mistletoe incident with Hermione had cemented it, so...</p><p>“... I think it's a bit of both.”  Pansy admitted, and the pair stood in silence for a moment before Professor McGonagall spoke again.</p><p>“I do hope you bid her a goodbye.”  She said and Pansy shook her head.  She should have, she really should have.</p><p>“I didn’t.” She said, and McGonagall sighed and shook her head, as though this disappointed her.</p><p>“Thats a shame.”  She said and Pansy raised an eyebrow, not seeing the real issue here.  It was a missed goodbye and it was a little sad but it wasn't a <em>shame </em>per se. </p><p>“And why is that, Professor?”  She asked, and Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and rested a hand on her shoulder for a moment before pulling it back.</p><p>“Because what you’re talking about… I’m sorry, may I speak freely?”  McGonagall asked, and Pansy found it comical that she had asked so late in the conversation, after speaking freely this whole time.</p><p>“Nothing’s stopped you yet.”  Pansy said quietly, and the Professor sighed and cleared her throat.  She did seem to be looking for the right way to say what she was going to say, and that alone was enough to make Pansy a bit nervous.</p><p>“Okay.  From what I’ve gathered… you may just love this girl.”  She said carefully and Pansy chuckled and shook her head because that was almost exactly what Fleur had said to her earlier, just in less words.</p><p>“You’re not the first person to say that to me tonight.”  Pansy admitted, and the Professor looked at her with some surprise at this.</p><p>“I thought you snuck out unnoticed.”  McGonagall said, and Pansy shook her head.  She had omitted the whole conversation with Fleur, so the confusion did make sense.</p><p>“No, I was caught… by one of the children of the host’s fiancee, she tried to help me through it, I think she was trying to get me to stay but it didn’t work, and she said the same thing, almost verbatim… she hoped I’d said goodbye to the girl, because it seemed like I was in love with her.”  Pansy explained, and McGonagall looked a little pleased at this, that someone else had agreed with her.</p><p>“What did you do then?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.</p><p>“Left.”  She said, and McGonagall sighed and nodded, taking a few steps away from where she had been standing.</p><p>“Well, Ms. Parkinson.  I can see why you were crying, that's a lot to handle late at night.  Now get inside your dorm.” McGonagall instructed, and Pansy nodded.  She wanted nothing more then to fall into bed and maybe sleep this whole feeling away.</p><p>“Yes ma’am.”  She said, and went to open the entrance to the Slytherin common room.</p><p>“Oh and Ms. Parkinson?”  McGonagall called out, and Pansy turned around.</p><p>“Yes?”  She asked, and McGonagall's features turned neutral again as she spoke.</p><p>“I expect that Transfiguration essay of yours to be at least EE, if not O.  You’re smart enough, just try a little harder.”  McGonagall said, her voice sharp and authoritative again, showing none of the softness of a few moments ago.  Pansy had actually forgotten all about that essay, and mentally thanked McGonagall for saying something about it, or else she would've gotten a rude awakening at the end of the holiday.</p><p>“... Yes Professor.  Goodnight.” Pansy mumbled, and McGonagall nodded.</p><p>“Goodnight, Ms.Parkinson, go to bed.  You look like you need it right now.” McGonagall said, turning around to walk back up into the castle.  Once Pansy was inside the common room, she realized the time... far too late to sneak into her dorms, she didn't want to wake up anyone who'd decided to stay here during the holidays this year, so she yawned and curled up on the couch, balling up her bag as a pillow.  She hadn't realized how tired she was until she laid down.  Her eyes started drooping almost immediately, leading into a restless, stressed out sort of sleep.</p><hr/><p>Pansy awoke the next morning freezing cold and with an aching neck.  She’d forgotten how uncomfortable the common room couches were, Merlin.  When she opened her eyes she screamed because <em> of course </em>someone was staring down at her, but the screaming stopped when she realized it was just Tracey.</p><p>“Merlin, Tracey!  You’re damn lucky I didn’t take your eye out, I nearly hit you!”  Pansy hissed, sitting up.  She flattened down her hair and glared up at the other girl who still looked confused.  Pansy supposed that was fair, after all she wasn't even supposed to be at Hogwarts right now.</p><p>“Sorry, I just… what the fuck are you doing here, Parkinson?”  Tracey asked, yawning and Pansy smirked and shrugged, not wanting to give a real answer at the moment for the fear of Tracey wanting to kill someone on her behalf.  It was never fully out of the realm of possibility.</p><p>“I go to school here.”  Pansy joked and Tracey smacked the back of her head, probably harder than she meant to because it actually hurt.  Pansy winced and rubbed the back of her head as Tracey glared down at her.</p><p>“Don’t be smart with me, it isn’t really your strong suit.” Tracey snapped and Pansy let out a surprised laugh as she reached back and smacked Tracey's arm lightly.  While that was slightly funny, it was still a bit out of line.</p><p>“Hey!”  Pansy said and Tracey sighed, still studying her like she was trying to figure out if something was wrong.  Pansy hoped that she was better at hiding her emotions after a full night of sleep, even if these were the couches from hell.</p><p>“<em> Anyways </em> .  What happened to going home with the Weasley and co?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  Oh nothing, she'd just completely messed it up and probably ruined her friendship with Hermione forever by leaving without even saying goodbye. </p><p>“Blew up in my goddamn face.”  Pansy muttered, and Tracey gave her a sympathetic look</p><p>“I knew it would.  Scoot.”  She said, hopping over the back of the couch and perching there for a moment with an expectant look on her face.  Wow, Pansy could have exactly nothing to herself in this place.</p><p>“There’s a whole other couch.”  Pansy groaned, and Tracey raised an eyebrow at her.</p><p>“<em> Scoot </em> .”  Tracey said, more firmly this time and Pansy rolled her eyes but did move over a little bit so Tracey could sit.  She slid down the back of the couch and sat cross legged at the end of the couch. </p><p>“Merlin. I hope you're happy with your little seat.”  She said, and the smile she got from Tracey meant she was <em>indeed </em>happy with her little seat, thank you very much.  She held a bottle out to Pansy and raised her eyebrow. </p><p>“Firewhiskey?”  She asked, and Pansy grinned and nodded.  That was <em>exactly </em>what she needed right now. </p><p>“Hell yes.  Where’d you get it?”  Pansy asked as she took the bottle and took a long drink from it.  Tracey flashed her a grin.</p><p>“Theo smuggled it in for me on a dare.  Things were getting boring, you know.  Got three more bottles stashed under my bed.”  Tracey explained, and Pansy was almost impressed by that.  Theo didn't often participate in shit that could get him in trouble, she was glad to know he was mixing it up a bit.</p><p>“Not bad.”  Pansy said, passing the bottle back to Tracey, who took a sip and then set it down, turning so she was looking Pansy head on.</p><p>“Now tell me, what exactly blew up.” Tracey asked and Pansy sighed.  What <em>hadn't </em>blown up was a better question, honestly.  Because everything had blown up, the entire thing was a scratch.  And to top it all off, Hermione <em>still </em>had that photo of her. </p><p>“Well, first.  Molly Weasley-.”  She started, and Tracey raised her eyebrow.  Right, she wouldn't know who that was.</p><p>“Who?”  Tracey asked and Pansy waved her off and sighed.</p><p>“Sorry, that’s their mom.”  She said and Tracey nodded and rested her head on the back of the couch</p><p>“Got it.  Continue.”  She said and Pansy sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she thought of all that had happened.</p><p>“Molly Weasley pulled me aside last night and basically told me she didn’t want me there anymore because of how I treat Ron, which I did apologize for, but it felt right to leave… and also it's not good to spend that much time around an unrequited crush.”  Pansy said, muttering the last part, hoping Tracey would miss it.  She almost did, but then she gasped and sat up.</p><p>“Wait.  <em> Wait </em> .  Who do you have a crush on, Parkinson?  And why is this new information to me?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged, not wanting to look at her. </p><p>“I haven’t told anyone.”  Pansy said quietly and Tracey smacked her arm and <em>ow</em> when did Tracey get so damn strong.  She shifted closer to Pansy, the excitement evident on her face and immediately Pansy regretted saying anything. </p><p>“Tell me!  There’s no one else here… I mean except Millie but she sleeps like the dead and we both know it.”  Tracey said, and Pansy chewed on her lip.  She didn't know what would happen if more people knew, she was scared it would get back to Hermione.</p><p>“I don’t know…” Pansy said and Tracey all but pouted as she leaned closer to Pansy.  Merlin, this was going to be irritating if she didn't just give in and tell her.</p><p>“C’mon!  I promise I won’t tell a soul.”  She insisted and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, not wanting to meet Tracey's eyes when she said it.</p><p>“... Fine.   It’s Granger.”  Pansy mumbled and Tracey's face lit up as she clapped her hands excitedly, like she'd just made some large connections.  She hadn't, Pansy had literally laid it all out for her, but that's beside the point.</p><p>“Oh I fucking <em> knew </em> it!  No way you’d wear a Gryffindor scarf unless you were crushing on someone.”  Tracey said, a large grin taking over her face.  Pansy groaned and put her head in her hands for a moment, peeking out through the fingers.  She <em>had </em>to find new friends, this was ridiculous. </p><p>“Ugh, Daphne <em> told </em> you?!”  Pansy whispered, and Tracey chuckled and nodded, reaching over to rub Pansy's arm lightly. </p><p>“Of course, she thought it was hilarious.”  Tracey said, and Pansy sighed and dropped her hands, suddenly wishing she could just apparte to Daphne's estate, just so she could punch her <em>once </em>in the arm. </p><p>“Wanker.”  She muttered, and Tracey cleared her throat, as if she could sense that she should change the subject.</p><p>“So… you like Granger.  How does she feel about you?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She would probably never know the answer to that question, its not like she was about to <em>talk </em>about it. </p><p>“Hard to know, haven’t asked.”  Pansy said, taking the bottle off the table to take another long drink from it.  She was going to need it for this conversation because Tracey obviously didn't believe her.</p><p>“There’s something you’re not telling me.  Out with it.”  Tracey says, poking Pansy's arm.  Pansy swatted her hand away and sighed, okay so she was talking about this.</p><p>“Fine!  We were under the mistletoe-.”  Tracey gasped, a smile growing on her face again.  Oh great, this was just going to be <em>so </em>fun for Pansy... </p><p>“Did you kiss her?”  Tracey asked and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She could've kissed her, honestly right after she didn't know why she didn't.  But she knew now that if she had, she never would move on.</p><p>“On the cheek-.”  Pansy started, and Tracey groaned and shook her head, as if that wasn't good enough.</p><p>“Oh come on, that doesn’t count!”  She said and Pansy huffed and shoved her shoulder.  So sorry that she felt the need to be polite!</p><p>“I wasn’t <em> trying </em> to kiss her!  I just didn’t know if the mistletoe would explode if we didn’t.”  Pansy said, and Tracey raised an eyebrow as she lifted the bottle to her lips. </p><p>“Ginny’s older brothers?” She asked, and Pansy nodded, leaning against the arm of the couch.  Part of her wondered how Tracey knew that, before remember everyone knew what the Weasley twins had done.</p><p>“Mhm.”  Pansy said, and Tracey took a deep breath before speaking again, like she was scared of offending Pansy with something she would say.</p><p>“So… why is that a big deal then?” Tracey asked and Pansy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.  The big deal was that she might just be in love and that was fucking <em>terrifying</em>.  She didn't know what to <em>do </em>with that emotion.  Or how to talk about it, so she decided to just breeze right by it. </p><p>“That’s not all… you know how I refused to share what my amortentia smelled like?”  Pansy asked and Tracey 'tsk'ed and nodded, making a face.</p><p>“Yeah, that was supremely annoying.”  She said and Pansy sighed and rested her head in her hands again.  She <em>really </em>didn't want to say this, it felt wrong to acknowledge this after weeks of denying it. </p><p>“It’s because it smells like <em> her </em> .”  Pansy muttered, and Tracey's jaw dropped open and closed about six time before she spoke <em>very </em>carefully. </p><p>“But that’s kind of sweet-.”  She started, and Pansy sighed and looked away from Tracey as she let her mind wander a little bit.</p><p>“She probably didn’t smell me.” Pansy mumbled, and Tracey raised her eyebrow, folding her hands in her lap.  Why was she surprised by this, it didn't make sense.</p><p>“You don’t know?”  Tracey asked, clearly a little bit confused.  Okay, that made sense.  She supposed that Tracey and Daphne had probably told each other theirs, they were potions partners.</p><p>“She wouldn’t share hers either.”  Pansy sighed, and Tracey chuckled and shook her head, reaching over to take Pansy's hand, which she quickly yanked back.</p><p>“Ever think that <em> maybe </em> there’s a reason for that?” Tracey asked patiently and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Because she liked privacy?  Really, Pansy couldn't think of another damn reason. </p><p>“No?”  Pansy said in a questioning tone.  Tracey let out a small laugh and rested her head in her hands.</p><p>“Merlin, how are you considered the smart one in our friend group?”  Tracey groaned and Pansy smirked as she drank again.  She actually didn't know why people thought that, but she could see why.</p><p>“Because I don’t date Blaise Zabini a million times and expect him to change, and you’re failing Transfiguration.”  Pansy pointed out, and Tracey grimaced and nodded.  Pansy figured the other girl would see it from her point of view.</p><p>“... Right.”  Tracey said and Pansy sighed and reached over, putting a hand on Tracey's shoulder.  She had an idea.</p><p>“Let's just forget about everything right now, yeah?”  Pansy asked, arching an eyebrow, but Tracey didn't seem to get it.  Had she seriously forgotten last spring?</p><p>“What do you mean?”  Tracey asked and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, fighting against the urge to snap at Tracey for not remembering right now.</p><p>“I mean… let's just act like it's last year, Spring holidays, do you remember?”  Pansy asked, and that was when it clicked for Tracey.  She grinned and nodded, and Pansy found herself rather relieved that the other girl had a fond memory of it as well.</p><p>“Of course, neither of us went home and we spent the whole time hanging out and drinking firewhiskey, and talking about… anything.  And nothing.” Tracey said, and Pansy smirked, sitting up a bit as she spoke.</p><p>“Well, we’ve got a week left of the holiday… might as well.”  Pansy said, and Tracey held up the bottle, raising her eyebrow.</p><p>“To us?”  She said, and Pansy nodded, taking the bottle after Tracey was done.  It was the closest they could get to toasting without cups in here.</p><p>“To us, Davis.”  Pansy said with a wink, taking a long sip from the bottle before setting it down next to her. “So whatever happened with that Ravenclaw?” She asked, and Tracey made a face and shook her head.</p><p>“Total bust.  Turns out he was only interested in me because he thought I was easy.”  She explained and Pansy gasped and sat up a bit more.  She was going to commit murder, and she was going to do it <em>soon</em>. </p><p>“What a fucking dick!”  Pansy snapped, and Tracey nodded and sighed, resting her head on her hand as she looked on, either wistful or glum, Pansy really couldn't tell the difference on her sometimes, they looked too similar.</p><p>“I know, and here I was thinking ‘oh a Ravenclaw, maybe he likes me for my brain’.”  Tracey said wistfully and at this Pansy <em>had </em>to laugh.  Tracey was a lot of things, but good at school was not one of them. </p><p>“No offense, Trace, but I don’t think anyone likes you for your brain.”  She snorted, and Tracey's jaw dropped open as she shook her head.  For a moment Pansy thought she may have actually offended her, but the glint in Tracey's eyes told her that she was still in the clear.</p><p>“OI!”  Tracey snapped, flicking Pansy's ear.  Pansy shoved her away and sighed, crossing her arms.  Apparently jokes aren't allowed anymore, damn.</p><p>“I was going to say maybe for your sense of humor but if you’re going to be like that, never mind.”  She said, clearly joking.  Tracey rolled her eyes and shoved her lightly.</p><p>“Shut up.”  She muttered, and they settled in for a few minutes, just relaxing back against opposite sides of the couch and passing the bottles back and forth.</p><p>“So who spread that rumor about you?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey sighed and shook her head.</p><p>“My guess is Goyle.  He asked me out last month and I turned him down for <em> obvious </em> reasons, and he didn’t like that too much.”  Tracey explained, and this irritated Pansy.  Why do the boys at this school always think they should spread rumors when something goes wrong?  Just fucking talk to the person, or don't and let it go. </p><p>“Merlin, he’s such a douche.  Crabbe too.  They can both burn for all I fucking care.” Pansy said, and Tracey raised an eyebrow, clearly a bit confused.  Pansy didn't know why, Crabbe and Goyle were never her friends, they were Draco's friends.</p><p>“What’d they do to you?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy shrugged.  Why hadn't she told Tracey about this?  They were close enough to each other that she should know.</p><p>“Told my fucking parents about me being gay.”  Pansy mumbled and Tracey sat up with a start, looking pissed.  Oh right, thats why she doesn't tell people that.</p><p>“Fuck it, I’ll kill them myself, I don't care if I end up rotting in Azkaban.  They should <em>not </em>fucking get away with this!” Tracey growled, and Pansy shook her head, reaching over to run her hand over Tracey's arm in an attempt to quell her anger a bit. </p><p>“They aren’t worth it, T.”  Pansy insisted, and Tracey glared at her, jaw still set.</p><p>“I’m sorry, what?  They outed you to your family and got you <em> disowned, </em> that seems worth it to me.”  She snapped, and initially, yeah Pansy had wanted to kill them too, but really, what was that going to do except land her in Azkaban. </p><p>“Its not like my dad wasn’t already looking for a reason.”  Pansy pointed out, and that realization did make her chest hurt.  Her dad <em>wanted </em>to disown her.  Ugh.</p><p>“Thats fair, plus now you don’t have to deal with him anymore.  You can do whatever the fuck you want.”  Tracey pointed out and Pansy nodded and lifted the bottle to her lips again before handing it to Tracey.</p><p>“I’ll drink to that.”  She murmured, and Tracey got a sort of creepy smirk on her face after she took another sip, and Pansy considered cutting her off.  She knew Tracey was a lightweight, she always had been.</p><p>“Or <em> whoever </em> you want.”  Tracey said with a wink and Pansy grimaced.  Did she <em>have </em>to go there right now? </p><p>“Oi!  That was a bit much, don’t you think?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey shrugged, clearly amused by her own statement.  Merlin, she was... interesting.</p><p>“Oh come on, we gossiped about that all the time when you were with Malfoy.”  Tracey said, and Pansy chuckled.  She'd forgotten about how many stories she'd fabricated.</p><p>“Oh yeah, I lied about that.  He and I never…” She trailed off and Tracey raised an eyebrow, her mouth dropping open in shock.  She should <em>not </em>be shocked, even when she pretended to be into Draco, she barely touched him, save for a few chaste kisses. </p><p>“Never?!  But you were together for-.” Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  She and Draco were never in a relationship, she thought that was clear by now.</p><p>“We were never <em> together </em>in that sense, just enough that our parents didn’t make the betrothal set in stone.  But I let him say whatever he wanted, and in turn I did the same.  Anything to make it believable.”  Pansy explained and Tracey considered this angle for a moment and nodded, like it made perfect sense.  Pansy couldn't agree less, nothing about what she had been raised in made any sense.</p><p>“I mean… yeah, that’s true.  Hey, has he seemed off to you recently?”  Pansy asked, desperate to get someone else's opinion on if Draco was hiding something.  Tracey thought for a long moment and then nodded.</p><p>“Like he’s hiding something?  Yeah.  Since like… late November I’ve noticed him acting different.”  She said, and Pansy grinned, at least happy that someone else had seen it and she wasn't going crazy.</p><p>“It’s almost like he feels guilty.  What do you think its about?"  Pansy asked and Tracey sighed and took another sip of her firewhiskey.</p><p>“Maybe he fancies men.”  Tracey said, and Pansy stiffened.  She didn't want to gossip about someone else's sexuality, thats exactly what messed this year up for her.</p><p>“No way.  Draco?  That’d devastated half the girls at this school.”  Pansy murmured and Tracey shrugged, like she was really considering this.  Pansy wanted to disappear through the floor right now.</p><p>“Well… I don’t know.  I’ve never seen him with a girl.”  Tracey said, and Pansy knew that was factually incorrect.  Through fourth and fifth year she and Draco were seldom apart, sure it was to keep up appearances but it still counted.</p><p>“Am I invisible to you?”  Pansy asked with a joking smirk and Tracey rolled her eyes and kicked at Pansy lightly.</p><p>“You were a cover as much as he was.” Tracey pointed out, and Pansy sighed.  It felt wrong, speculating about someone's sexuality.  Pansy knew what that felt like, being the person who was speculated about, and it didn't feel good.  Sure, Draco had started all the shit for her, but that didn't mean she <em>had </em>to start shit for him to deal with.</p><p>“Yeah but-.”  Pansy was cut off by the sound of the portrait opening and the smell of food.  She looked up to see Theodore Nott, looking at them both with what he probably <em>thought </em>was a smile, but it came across like a grimace as he set the plate in front of both of them. </p><p>“Hello ladies.  Thought you might want some food, and Pansy… this came during mail, I grabbed it for you.”  He said, dropping a letter into Pansy's lap.  Her anxiety spiked when she saw it was from the Burrow, but it didn't have a name written to indicate who it was from.  Maybe she'd be lucky and it'd just be Molly thanking her for leaving before she could make anything worse, but that was an unrealistic best case scenario.</p><p>“You didn’t read it, right Nott?"  Pansy asked, and Theo raised an eyebrow and shook his head, as if the mere idea of that was ridiculous.  It wasn't, it had happened before it just wasn't Theo who did it.</p><p>“Now who do you take me for, I’m not Zabini I don’t do shit like that.”  He pointed out, and Pansy did have to give him credit there.  He'd never been nearly as bad as Blaise was with boundaries.  Tracey held out the bottle to Theo and smiled as she tucked a knee against her chest.</p><p>“Sit and have a drink, Theo.”  She said and Theo took the bottle and sighed.</p><p>“You don’t have to tell me twice.  Scoot down, Davis.”  He instructed, and Pansy rolled her eyes when she felt Tracey pushing her further down the couch.  This was honestly the stupidest seating arrangement ever.</p><p>“Oh for Merlins-There are two couches!”  Pansy hissed and Theo chuckled and shook his head, leaning forward so that Pansy could see him around Tracey</p><p>“Yeah, but where's the fun in that.  It’s endlessly fun to annoy you, Pansy dear.”  Theo said and Pansy stiffened at his pet name.  She'd always hated shit like that and people knew it.  She tolerated being called Pans and Parkinson, but nothing else besides her name.</p><p>“Don’t ever call me that again.”  She snapped and Theo opened his mouth to speak, but Tracey just shook her head slightly before resting it on Pansy's shoulder.  Pansy had forgotten how tactile Tracey got when she was drinking.</p><p>“Open the letter, I want to see what it says.”  Tracey said softly and Pansy sighed and lifted it up.  Just <em>looking </em>at it filled her with dread at what could be inside. </p><p>“Fine.”  She muttered and pulled the letter open, feeling like she was going to pass out when she started reading because she instantly knew it was from Hermione.  The parchment smelled like her.<br/><br/></p><p>
  <em> Pans- </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I was really sad to see you left last night without saying goodbye, it was like the one thing I didn’t wish to happen on Christmas, you know?  Fleur mentioned you talked to her and that you said you had to go for personal reasons but… you could’ve said goodbye, it was jarring to wake up and just see you gone.  For a while nobody knew what was going on or where you went because we didn’t see the TINY piece of parchment you’d written on.  Even Ron helped look, said something about you two turning over a new leaf, don’t exactly know if that's true.  I just hope you’re safe, Pans.  I’m sorry you had to go. </em>
</p><p><strike> <em> Love </em> </strike> <em> Kind Regards, </em></p><p>
  <em> Hermione J Granger. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> PS  You left my scarf behind, I don’t know if that was intentional or not, but it kind of defeats the whole purpose of me giving it to you.  Have a good rest of your break, wherever you are.  I trust Hedwig found you though, Harry said he would. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Merlin.”  Tracey whispered, her cheek resting on Pansy's shoulder as she scanned the letter.  Pansy's chest hurt as she folded it back up and set it down, reaching for the bottle of firewhiskey.  She didn't want to think right now.</p><p>“Well, let's have another drink.”  Pansy said, knowing her voice cracked in the middle of her sentence, knowing her voice probably sounded thick with emotion.  Theo reached around Tracey and rubbed her other shoulder.</p><p>“Shouldn’t you-.”  He started, and Pansy shot him a glare.</p><p>“<em> Let's have another drink </em> .”  She said through clenched teeth and Theo raised his hands up in surrender, looking a little frightened for a moment. </p><p>“Merlin, Parkinson!  No need to bite my head off, I don’t even know what the hell’s going on right now!”  Theo chuckled and Tracey lifted her head up for a moment and ran her fingers through her hair.</p><p>“She’s got a crush on a girl and it made her leave where she was on holiday, you’re all caught up.”  She explained, and Pansy saw the glint in Theo's eyes and immediately resented whatever came out of his mouth.</p><p>“Ooo who’s the lucky lady, Parkinson.”  Theo asked and Pansy glared at him.  She was <em>not </em>telling Theodore Nott, it was a push to even tell Tracey.</p><p>“None of your business, Nott.”  She spat, and he sighed and rested his chin on his hand, giving her an overly dramatic sad, pleading look.  Gross.  Did he actually think that that would make the idea of confiding in him any more appealing?  Because it didn't.</p><p>“I won’t tell anyone.”  He insisted and Pansy rolled her eyes before examining her nails as she tried to come up with a good comeback that would <em>maybe </em>have him leave her alone for a time.</p><p>“You’d have to have someone to tell in order to tell someone.”  Pansy muttered, and Tracey smacked the back of her head, but when Pansy looked over she saw the smile playing on her lips.</p><p>“Now that was uncalled for.  I’d even go so far as to say it hurt a little.”  Theo said, faking a wounded look.  Pansy rolled her eyes and took another drink from the firewhiskey.</p><p>“Shut up.” Pansy groaned and Theo gripped his chest and looked away, a hand thrown over his face.</p><p>“You’ve wounded me.”  He said and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Yeah, she really needed better friends... even better acquaintances would be nice, Merlin.</p><p>“Oh my- If I tell you will you <em> stop </em> being such a drama queen?”  Pansy asked, and Theo immediately resumed his initial posture, folding his hands in his lap. </p><p>“But of course.”  He said, and Pansy chewed on the inside of her cheek, steeling herself to say this to another person.  She hadn't planned on telling anyone, and here she was, one day away from Hermione and she's telling everyone what she feels.  It's like she's unhinged or something.</p><p>“It’s Granger.” She muttered, and Theo nodded, looking unimpressed by this statement.  Was this not news to <em>anyone</em>?</p><p>“Oh, I could’ve deduced that.”  He said, and Pansy bit down harder on the inside of her mouth, trying not to say anything rude.</p><p>“How so?”  She managed, and Theo shrugged, leaning back against the couch as he spoke.  Pansy didn't enjoy how arrogant his posture was as he spoke on her own personal matters.</p><p>“She wrote you the letter, something about you having her scarf, and the fact that you two fight like an old married couple.”  Theo said in a deadpan voice, and Pansy felt her face get warm as she tried to lunge over Tracey to either punch Theo or push him off the couch, but Tracey catches her and pushes her back into her seat.</p><p>“We do not!”  Pansy said, her voice coming out higher then expected, and Theo smirked at her, and leaned forward to get better eye contact.</p><p>“Dear, I’m only being <em> objective </em>here.”  Theo said, and Pansy gritted her teeth and pushed down the urge to slap Theo across the face for calling her that.</p><p>“Fine, well <em> objectively </em> you suck.”  Pansy snapped, and Theo grinned at her.  Why the fuck won't he just get mad, its <em>infuriating</em>.</p><p>“Now now, flattery will get you nowhere.”  Theo said, patting Pansy's leg, and luckily for him, Tracey pushed his arm back because if Pansy had done it, his fingers would be bent the wrong way by this point.</p><p>“Merlin’s <em> balls </em> you two are pretentious!”  Tracey said, and Pansy chuckled in surprise because that's not the saying and she knew that Tracey knew that. </p><p>“Tracey that's not the-.”  Pansy started, and Tracey shushed her and glared slightly as she spoke.</p><p>“I know!  I was trying to add a bit of actual <em> humor </em> to this conversation.”  She said and Pansy let out a small chuckle and shook her head.  Tracey was being ridiculous. </p><p>“And that’s the best you can do.”  Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow, and Tracey set her jaw.</p><p>“Hm. Really?  Well then no more firewhiskey for you.”  Tracey said, pulling the bottle from her hands, and Pansy went to protest, but then remembered their earlier conversation.</p><p>“Fine.  I know where your stash is.” Pansy said with a smirk, standing up and beelining for the girls dorm as she heard a commotion happen behind her.  She knew she probably had 30 seconds to get the bottles before Tracey.</p><p>“PANSY PARKINSON, GET BACK HERE!”  Tracey shouted as she chased after Pansy, who managed to dive under her bed and grab one of the bottles before getting dragged out by her legs, both girls laughing as Tracey tried to grab it back from her.  It occurred to Pansy in that moment that this was the first time in months that she had felt free inside of her own dorm.  It was nice, she could admit.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. A moment of aftermath</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the first day with everyone back, and Pansy felt an emptiness.  She’d come to the decision over break that she would distance herself from Hermione, despite the protests from Tracey.  Their friendship had never really worked that well in the first place, and Hermione deserved better friends than Pansy.  Her plan was going swimmingly until Potions class, when she arrived almost late and again, the only seat open was next to Hermione.  She was honestly a little shocked, but when she scanned the room she saw that Ron was sitting next to Potter, and they were in deep conversation about… something.  Pansy took a deep breath to center herself and walked across the room, sitting wordlessly next to Hermione.</p><p>“Hey…”  Hermione said, after the silence must have become unbearable for her too.  Pansy sighed and flipped her textbook open, still refusing to look at the other witch.  If this is what she had to do to avoid confrontation, then so be it.</p><p>“Hello, Granger.  Lovely day, isn’t it?”  She asked, rather cooly.  Hermione sighed and shook her head, leaning onto her hands as she glanced over at Pansy.  Pansy still refused to meet her eyes, she knew that the second she did her resolve to put distance between them might just crumble.  Hermione had that effect on her after all.</p><p>“So we just <em> aren’t </em> going to talk about why you ran out on Christmas, only talked to Fleur, and never wrote back.” Hermione mumbled after a moment and Pansy sighed and gripped her quill a little bit tighter as she continued to take notes down.  Or try to, it was very hard with Hermione’s gaze trained on her.</p><p>“One, Fleur wasn’t intentional, she caught me as I was leaving and tried to convince me to stay.  Two, that's exactly right.”  Pansy said, and Hermione’s shoulders sagged.  She wouldn’t look over, she wouldn’t look over, she couldn’t or this would all be a waste of time.</p><p>“Pansy-.”  Pansy cut her off, not wanting to listen anymore.</p><p>“So, we’re focusing on Felix Felicis today, right?”  Pansy asked and Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.</p><p>“Yes but-.” Pansy cut her off again, determined to stay on task and make Hermione stop trying to talk about her damn feelings in the middle of potions class.</p><p>“Great, so its properties are-.”  Hermione sighed and slammed Pansy’s potions book shut, attracting a few looks from around the room, most of which were driven away by a glare from either Daphne or Tracey, at their adjacent table.</p><p>“<em> Pansy Parkinson. </em> ”  Hermione said, with more firmness in her voice then when she’d said the other things.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione’s bravado was gone in an instant, which Pansy found strange.  Wasn’t that like… Gryffindor’s thing?</p><p>“You’re ignoring the fact that you left me at the Weasley's without so much as a why.”  Hermione said softly, and Pansy risked a glance.  She was right, it was enough to make her lose her resolve, because Hermione looked hurt… like really hurt, Pansy could see it in her eyes and it made her feel terrible that she was the one responsible for that.  She could give Hermione a little bit, she owed her at least that much.</p><p>“Mrs. Weasley said some things that reminded me of… where I stand, I guess.  It was wrong of me to be there at all.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione’s brows crinkled together in confusion as she thought about what Pansy had said.</p><p>“But-.” Pansy shook her head.  Nothing Hermione could say was going to change her mind at this point, and she knew it.</p><p>“Don’t try and change my mind because you aren’t going to.  You deserve better than a friend like me.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione sighed in frustration and shook her head, as if what Pansy was saying was stupid.  It wasn’t, she’d thought long and hard about this and Hermione <em> did </em>deserve better. </p><p>“Pansy I like hanging out with you, that’s more than good enough.”  Hermione said softly, and reached out to tuck some hair behind Pansy’s ear, but she caught the other girl’s wrist without so much as a sideways glance and gently pressed it back down on the table.  Not hard enough that it hurt, but also firm enough that Hermione would hopefully understand to not try doing that again.<br/>“I’m not a good person, Granger.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione sighed and shook her head.</p><p>“Yes you are!”  Hermione insisted, covering Pansy’s hand with her own.  She was still so warm.  How was she so warm all the time?  That couldn’t possibly be healthy.  Pansy pulled her hand away and let it rest in her lap.</p><p>“Good people don’t walk out on Christmas night, good people don’t bully people for over five years and only fully stop because some pretty girl was really nice to them and so now they feel wrong if they do it.  Good people don’t yell at their friends for kissing someone, and good people certainly don’t get jealous because their friend is with a boy.”  Pansy said, her voice getting more and more hard to force out as she kept the tears in her eyes at bay.  She’d spent half of the rest of the holiday remembering what an asshole she was, and the other half drinking firewhiskey with Tracey and actively crying into her shoulder.  She was fairly certain that was the most she’d cried in front of anyone, but Tracey had been really good about it, she’d just let it happen and then get Pansy some water and make her take a nap, or if it was late enough, go to bed.</p><p>“Pansy you- wait, you were jealous?  Of Ronald Billius Weasley?”  Hermione asked, the amusement clear in her voice.  Pansy didn’t see what was funny about it, he’d managed to get the girl, Pansy would never even get the chance.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter now, so just forget about it!” Pansy snapped and Hermione flinched away before responding.</p><p>“It matters to me.”  She said quietly, and Pansy looked at her with a significant glare.  Hermione didn’t look away from her for a moment.</p><p>“Well it shouldn’t.  I got over it, yeah?  Just… know that you deserve better friends than people like me.”  Pansy whispered, snapping her gaze back down to her parchment as Hermione made a sound of annoyance and shook her head, refusing to take her eyes off of Pansy, even though she was only getting her side profile.  Pansy felt like she might light on fire under her gaze.</p><p>“I know you think that, but trust me Parkinson.  There is no one in this <em> world </em>that I think is better.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out low and serious, and Pansy still couldn’t stop herself from wondering in what sense Hermione meant.</p><hr/><p>Trying to get to the great hall right now felt like trying to get through a river while going against the current, it just wasn’t happening.  Pansy was debating whether she should just go to her dorm when she heard a voice calling out to her.</p><p>“Parkinson!  Oi!  <em> Parkinson! </em>”  She recognized the voice immediately and rolled her eyes, setting her jaw.  Ron Weasley.</p><p>“What do you want, Ronald?”  Pansy asked cooly and Ron looked at her with a very serious expression, not something that was normal for Ron.  Shit, did someone die?  No, that didn’t make sense, no way would Ron be the one telling her.</p><p>“I’m gonna need you to come along with me.”  He said and Pansy arched an eyebrow.  She was suspicious of his intent, what if he was intending on murdering her?</p><p>“For what?”  She asked, and Ron shrugged, as if he hadn’t quite thought ahead this far.</p><p>“Prefect business.”  He said and Pansy sighed.  She didn’t believe him, but she also really had nowhere to be.</p><p>“...Fine.”  She muttered, and they started to walk in silence.  Or they would’ve walked in silence if Ron hadn’t felt the need to ruin it.</p><p>“How’s your day been?”  Ron asked and Pansy sighed and crossed her arms, not looking at him.  She was <em> tolerating </em> Ron, that did not mean they had to talk like friends out of nowhere, because that was just very insincere.</p><p>“Small talk isn’t a part of prefect’s business.”  Pansy muttered, and Ron chuckled and looked over at her as they turned a corner.</p><p>“Right, but it's a part of getting past whatever shit we have towards each other.”  He reminded her, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She did want to do that… well she didn’t exactly <em> want </em> to, but she knew for a fact that she had to.</p><p>“Fine.  My day has been <em> fine </em> .  You?”  Pansy asked, and Ron shrugged, tucking his hands in his pockets as he spoke.</p><p>“Could’ve been better, but overall it's been alright for a Thursday.  I hate Thursdays, you know?  Too close to the start of the weekend for me to focus.”  Ron said.  What the hell was he even <em> talking </em> about?  It hardly made any sense.</p><p>“Hm.  Fascinating.”  Pansy said in a flat tone, and they turned down a hallway Pansy didn’t recognize, stopping in front of an empty wall.  Was this it?  Was this where Ron <em> finally </em> murdered her?</p><p>“Okay, we’re here.  We just need a <em> door </em> .”  Ron said, emphasizing the last word, and Pansy almost asked him what he was on about when a door appeared.  She blinked in surprise.  Where <em> were </em> they?</p><p>“What the hell…”  Pansy murmured, and Ron pulled open the door and stepped aside so that Pansy could walk in.</p><p>“It's called the room of requirement.  Harry found it.”  Ron said, and Pansy nodded, before remembering what Ron had said.  Prefect stuff her fucking <em> ass </em> .  Also, this was a secret room, he could actually murder her and no one would find her.</p><p>“You lied to me!”  Pansy said, and Ron shrugged as he closed the door behind him.</p><p>“Yes, well would you have come along had I told the truth?”  Ron asked and Pansy thought about it.  She for sure would not have, but it was still wrong to lie to her about where they were going.</p><p>“Probably not.”  She admitted, and Ron nodded, placing a hand between Pansy’s shoulder blades to lead her further into the room.</p><p>“Exactly, now come on.”  Ron said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She could be talking to her friends right now, and instead she was stuck in Ron’s creepy murder room.</p><p>“This is-Hermione?”  Pansy asked softly when she saw the girl sitting on a chair.  Hermione looked up at her with a small smile, and waved.</p><p>“Well yes, this <em> is </em> Hermione.”  Ron said, and Pansy saw a smile spread across his face and elbowed him in the ribs lightly.  She still wasn’t above hexing him, if he got too annoying, it didn’t matter what Mrs. Weasley had said.</p><p>“Shut up, Ron.”  Pansy muttered, and Ron chuckled and nodded, looking between the two of them.  Why was he not being an asshole right now, Pansy was far more comfortable with that over Ron being calm.</p><p>“Right.  I figured the two of you needed a place to talk, privately.  So… why not here?”  Ron said, and Pansy was still worried.  He could still <em> easily </em> murder her….</p><p>“Okay…”  She said, and Hermione sighed and stood up, brushing off her skirt.  She walked over and patted Ron’s arm</p><p>“Thanks, Ron.  I can do it from here.”  Hermione insisted, and Ron nodded, putting two hands on Hermione’s shoulders and looked into her eyes.<br/>“Remember, be patient, ‘Mione.”  He said quietly and Hermione smiled and shoved him away with a chuckle.</p><p>“<em> Go </em> .”  She insisted, and Ron put his hands up in surrender and started walking backwards towards the wall.</p><p>“I’m going, I’m going.”  He insisted, and when he got to the wall he muttered something about a door, and when one appeared, he left.  Pansy turned to Hermione and crossed her arms, resisting the urge to touch the other witch in any way, she’d become far too used to the casual touches they’d been doing.</p><p>“So.. what do you want to talk to me about?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and nodded, settling down in the chair she’d been sitting in.</p><p>“Right can you… can you sit down please?”  She asked, and Pansy almost said she didn’t have a chair, but when she turned around, one was there.  This place felt weird, even for Hogwarts.</p><p>“Alright…”  Pansy said, still skeptical as she sunk into the chair.  She was surprised to find it was very comfortable.   When she glanced back at Hermione she saw the other witch had the look she always gets before she speaks about something important, or before she says something that could be harmful.</p><p>“Pansy…. You confuse the living hell out of me.”  Hermione finally said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow because what was <em> that </em> supposed to mean, and why did it warrant being dragged to a room that very few people knew about.</p><p>“Don’t see how this is important-.”  She started, but Hermione cut her off and shook her head as she must have finished her thought.</p><p>“But I like that.  Like I understand that I’ll never understand you but something in me is willing to die trying to.”  Hermione said, and Pansy’s breath felt like it was stolen away with the last part of that sentence.  ‘WIlling to die trying.’  She’d never had anyone in her life who wanted to try that hard.  Sure, Daph and Tracey were great, but they still had their boundaries, some of which were crossed over the holidays with Tracey but that was mostly that they didn’t used to cry in front of each other, Daphne had a whole different set of rules, but she didn’t mind the crying part of it.  After all, she knew how to handle the emotions of others better than either Pansy or Tracey, she had a little sister.  But that was currently beside the point.</p><p>“Hermione-.”  She tried, and Hermione held up a hand to keep Pansy quiet.</p><p>“Please, let me talk.”  Hermione said, and Pansy was knocked back in her chair by how vulnerable Hermione sounded right now.  No academic blinders, no need to prove herself, just…. Hermione in an emotional form.</p><p>“Alright, fine.”  Pansy said, and Hermione took a deep breath, bouncing her leg as she started to talk.</p><p>“There’s something about you that, no matter how many times you push me away, no matter how many people tell me it's a bad idea… I just can’t seem to get past you.  It’s like, objectively when I’m thinking about it we don’t make sense, us being around each other.  But then… I look at that picture Ginny took on Christmas and… all logic falls away.  Do you know how hard that is to deal with for someone like me?  You transcend my logical barriers, Pans.  Like, I’ll think ‘okay, maybe Pansy and i should stop talking, she’s not always the best to my friends and-’”  Hermione stopped talking and just smiled to herself.  That was such an odd place to end her sentence, Pansy knew she couldn’t just be <em> done </em> .  Hell that wasn’t even the <em> end </em> of a fucking sentence!  What the hell?!</p><p>“And what?”  Pansy prompted, but Hermione shook her head, meeting Pansy’s eyes as she spoke.</p><p>“And then I never get to finish that thought because you <em> smile </em> or you laugh or you hold my hand and it's like… I swear it's a magic in and of itself.  Suddenly I’m dumbstruck by this fucking <em> girl </em> in front of me, and I don’t <em> get </em> dumbstruck, its not in my nature.  I try to fight it, but sometimes I lose my control, the Slughorn party was a terrific example of that.  You came there with Draco and I got jealous-.”  Pansy raised an eyebrow, feeling her heart speed up in her chest at that confession.  Hermione Granger was jealous at the Slughorn party because Pansy had come with someone who she had assumed was a romantic date.</p><p>“You were jealous?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head, as though that should have been obvious from the very start.</p><p>“<em> Yes </em> .  I don’t know why that’s a difficult concept for you to grasp.  You… you’ve come to occupy the vast majority of my mind, and it’s very frustrating.”  Hermione said quietly and Pansy felt her heart sink.  There was no way in any foreseeable hell that that was a good thing.</p><p>“I’m-.” Pansy started, but again Hermione shook her head.</p><p>“Don’t say you’re sorry.  It’s frustrating in a good way… Like when you left the Weasley's in the middle of the night I was crushed because I had this plan for New Years at midnight and that… just went right out the window when you were gone.  It’s not frustrating in a way that causes me any issues with school or anything.”  Hermione insisted.   Pansy nodded, and with that weight off her mind she was able to address her curiosity about one other thing that Hermione had said in the course of that.</p><p>“What was your plan?”  She asked, and Pansy looked sheepish as she picked at her cuticles a little bit.</p><p>“I just…”  Hermione paused, as if she couldn’t get the words out.  Slowly the gears started to turn in Pansy’s mind and she put it together.</p><p>“Hermione.”  She said, careful to keep her voice steady.  Hermione looked at her, still nervous.</p><p>“Yeah?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy leaned forward, her chin on her hand</p><p>“Were you going to try and kiss me on New Years?”  Pansy asked, her heart skipping a beat at the mere possibility that that was the case.</p><p>“Merlin, that sounds so awkward when it's said aloud.”  Hermione muttered, and Pansy let the smile that she’d been fighting slowly spread across her face.  This could not be more perfect right now.</p><p>“It doesn’t.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione sighed and shrugged, looking away from where Pansy was sitting.</p><p>“Whatever.  Now I know you don’t feel the same way, and I was reading all your signals wrong and-.”  Pansy cut her off and shook her head.</p><p>“No!”  She insisted, and Hermione looked taken aback.  Why?  How did this <em> possibly </em> look like a rejection to her?</p><p>“What?”  Hermione asked, her voice one of pure disbelief.  Pansy shook her head and sighed, not quite knowing how to get this across in the way she wanted, but she decided to wing it.</p><p>“You’re wrong.  About me not feeling the same way.  I’ve liked you for so long, Granger.  I think I realized that I did for sure that day when I caught you and Ron, like there was no reason for me to get that angry.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked like she was in shock, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  How was it that the one girl who <em> should’ve </em>known Pansy liked her had no idea?</p><p>“So you’ve liked me since-.”  Pansy nodded</p><p>“Put the pieces together later.  But yes… I’ve liked you that whole time.”  She said, and Hermione still looked surprised.</p><p>“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged.  Because Hermione always seemed very unattainable but desirable, like that one thing you really want and that you’d do anything for, but you can never get.  Pansy decided that was a bit too much and decided to go with something more simple.</p><p>“I didn’t want to assume things, other than assuming you’re straight.”  Pansy said, and this made Hermione laugh and nod a little bit.</p><p>“I honestly thought I was but… I really like you, Pansy Parkinson.  You’re funny and smart and irreverent in the most <em> hilarious </em> ways.  And yes, you’re irritating and sometimes you’re a little too set in your ways and you have an ego the size of… god, I don’t even know what.  but… I don’t know.  Something about you just… makes me feel a little more free to be who I am.”  Hermione said, and that was enough to make Pansy’s courage get up just enough to do what she wanted to do.  In three long strides she was in front of Hermione’s chair.</p><p>“Hermione.”  She said, her voice coming out a little rough.  Hermione looked up with a raised eyebrow and blinked in surprise, as if she hadn’t heard Pansy walk over to her chair.</p><p>“Yeah?” She asked, and Pansy swallowed heavily.  It was now or never.</p><p>“Stop me if this isn’t okay.”  Pansy whispered, and slid a hand up to cup Hermione’s cheek.  She hardly noticed how quickly Hermione’s eyes fluttered shut, how the other girl moved closer to her.  She was too focused on this, and not screwing it up.  She pressed just the ghost of a kiss to Hermione’s lips and started to lean away when she felt a hand grip her tie and pull her close.</p><p>“I didn’t say stop…”  Hermione said, her voice hardly above a whisper, and Pansy took a deep breath.  She didn’t want to rush this.</p><p>“Well yes but-.”  Hermione shook her head and softly put her hands on Pansy’s hips, pulling her down to sitting on her lap, which Pansy didn’t know if she was entirely supposed to do, but it was that or topple to the floor, and she was pretty sure that that wasn’t part of Hermione’s master plan or anything.</p><p>“Come here.”  Hermione murmured, and brought her arms around the back of Pansy’s neck, pulling her into another kiss, this one having a little more staying power, and Pansy thought that this must be what Muggles mean when they talk about heaven because of course Hermione’s lips were as warm as her skin, and they tasted like a mix of vanilla and mint, and she was close enough that she could smell her perfume.  It was honestly like a full body experience, or an out of body one, Pansy wasn’t sure.  But she knew she had more questions, so when Hermione tried to deepen the kiss, Pansy put a gentle hand on her shoulder and separated them, feeling Hermione’s head drop against her chest as she spoke.</p><p>“Pause.  Not that I don’t <em> want </em> to be doing this but I have a few questions.”  Pansy said, running her fingers up and down Hermione’s spine.  It was about the only part of her that she could reach at this angle, with Hermione tucked against her.  She felt Hermione laugh against her and just about died because <em> feeling </em>someone’s laughter, having it rumble a little against your skin feels amazing.</p><p>“A few?  My my, Pansy Parkinson, who knew you were thinking so much, even <em> I </em>took a break for a moment there.”  Hermione teased and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, stopping her fingers on Hermione’s back and bringing them to her lap, folded.</p><p>“Shut up!  It’s important!”  She insisted and Hermione lifted her head up and leaned back so that she was able to make better eye contact.  Every part of her was smiling, even her eyes and it looked so beautiful in a way Pansy had never seen before.  She wanted to do everything in her power to keep that look on Hermione’s face as much as possible.</p><p>“Okay, fine.  I’m listening.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy took a deep breath before speaking</p><p>“Did you actually want to kiss me at Slughorn’s party because-.” Hermione cut her off with a sigh, and nodded, and Pansy felt her body relax.  Oh good, she hadn’t been crazy that night, she’d been a bit worried.</p><p>“I’d thought about it all night, and then Cormac did something stupid, Merlin I don’t remember what it was right now, and I was just… ruined.  And then you were there, and you looked <em> so </em> pretty and you smelt so nice.  You always smell nice, you know?  And then Harry showed up and ruined the whole damn thing.”  Hermione grumbled and Pansy chuckled.  He clearly didn’t ruin <em> everything </em> because here they were.</p><p>“Okay, good to know. Second… what are we?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione gave her a look before she spoke.</p><p>“Well we’ve always been a little bit more than friends, haven’t we?”  Hermione asked and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  If that was the case, she had not been clued into it.</p><p>“We have?”  She asked, and Hermione chuckled and nodded, flicking an eyebrow up.</p><p>“Yes.  Think about it.  The trip to Hogsmeade, the fact that you orchestrated that shows a lot, the fact that you cheered for Gryffindor when I asked, and I know you wouldn’t have done that had it been Ginny asking.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy’s cheeks simply <em> burned </em> .  So she really had been that obvious, Merlin this was going to be a long conversation.</p><p>“You’re right.”  Pansy said, and Hermione chuckled and leaned up, leaving a kiss on Pansy’s cheek before continuing.</p><p>“I’m also not <em> done </em> .  When Harry’s leg got all messed up you literally held me up and let me sob against you and at that point we didn’t know each other all that well… anyone else, even someone not in Slytherin, probably would’ve let me cry on my own.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy looked away from her.  There was something that day, the way that Hermione had so easily used her nickname, that had made her chest feel weird.  It was probably, unknowingly, when things started to shift.</p><p>“Well Ron did-.”  Hermione cut her off and shook her head.  Well she wasn’t <em> wrong, </em> Ron had all but ran her over trying to get to Hermione.</p><p>“Ron did what he felt he had to because we had just broken up.  He wasn’t out of ‘boyfriend’ mode yet.  Take him out of boyfriend mode and he has the emotional range of a teaspoon.”  Hermione explained and Pansy nodded.  That didn’t sound like an unbelievable concept, Ron Weasley not knowing how to handle emotions.</p><p>“Right, continue.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione thought for a moment before she got something.</p><p>“When I walked in on you in the baths -sorry about that, I promise it was an accident- you cried in front of me, and you were honest.  Okay, honestly that whole ordeal.  We fought like a goddamn couple over something so small and it felt worse than when I used to fight with Ron or when Harry’s been mad at me, knowing that I couldn’t talk to you.”  Hermione said and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She felt the same about that fight, and she was pretty sure Hermione knew it, but she wanted to make sure.</p><p>“I didn’t get out of bed except when I had to.”  Pansy confessed and Hermione chuckled and nodded.</p><p>“I noticed that.”  Hermione said and Pansy smirked and arched a brow, leaning closer to Hermione, leaving their faces inches apart.</p><p>“You were tracking me even back then?  That's a little bit odd, ‘Mione.” Pansy teased and Hermione rolled her eyes and shoved her shoulder gently.</p><p>“I had a crush, sue me.  Also… the fact that you outright gave me your sweater… that's not something people who are just friends do.”  Hermione pointed out, and Pansy’s face got hot.  She didn’t want to admit that that had been some sort of romantic gesture, she just noticed that Hermione liked the sweater.</p><p>“You don’t know what I do with my friends.”  Pansy tried, and Hermione raised an eyebrow as she leaned back in the chair.</p><p>“Sit under black lake and gossip?”  She asked and Pansy paused.  That was spot on, goddamnit.</p><p>“... Okay so maybe you <em> do </em> know.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head.  She must have remembered something else.</p><p>“Also the fact that I was painfully curious about who you smelt in the amortita should’ve been a bit of a clue, Parkinson.” Hermione said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.  She hadn't wanted to assume anything.</p><p>“I just thought you were really interested in the potion!” Pansy said in an attempt to defend herself, but Hermione chuckled and shook her head.</p><p>“No one is <em> that </em> interested in a potion, come on.”  Hermione said with a chuckle, and Pansy wanted to point out that Hermione was a <em> very </em>committed student, but it seemed like a moot point right now.</p><p>“I guess that should’ve been obvious.”  Pansy admitted and Hermione grinned and kissed the back of her hand before continuing.</p><p>“Also when you left I was like… beside myself with worry until we found that note -could’ve written on bigger parchment by the way.”  Hermione said, giving Pansy a look.  Pansy looked down at her hands because she <em> knew </em>she should’ve found a bigger piece, but she just needed to get out of there.</p><p>“Sorry about that.”  She murmured, and Hermione shook her head, pulling Pansy down for a quick kiss before continuing what she was saying.  Pansy didn’t want to admit it, but she liked the way Hermione was so casual with signs of affection, like it was second nature to her.</p><p>“No, don’t apologize, it did give me and Ron a chance to really discuss things… I told him how I felt about you and he was surprisingly understanding… and not shocked.  He did tell me that he thought this might happen, that's why he was so wary of you all the time.”  Hermione explained and Pansy let out a long laugh because this was <em> too </em> perfect.</p><p>“Was Ronald Weasley <em> threatened </em> by me?”  She asked, still greatly amused by this.  She’d been threatened by <em> Ron </em> because he already had the girl.</p><p>“My dear, I’m pretty sure Merlin himself would feel threatened by you.”  Hermione murmured, running her hand softly up and down Pansy’s arm before taking her hand.</p><p>“You flatter me.”  Pansy said.  She decided to try it, just being casual with a sign of affection.  She kissed the back of Hermione’s hand and noticed how the other witch’s smile grew.  Okay, so she could get used to that, if that was the reaction she would get from it.</p><p>“I do my best.”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed, shaking herself back into reality.  They were having a conversation and it still didn’t include a solid answer.</p><p>“Okay, but that doesn’t answer my question.  What are we, Hermione Granger?”  Pansy asked again, and Hermione sighed and shrugged.</p><p>“Well… I don’t know.  I’d like to be your girlfriend but… I have one condition.”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione cleared her throat, actually looking a little nervous again.  Pansy wasn’t sure why, because unless Hermione wanted her to kill one of her friends, Pansy would probably say yes.</p><p>“We go to Hogsmeade, just the two of us, have a proper date, and decide after.  Does that sound good to you?”  She asked, and Pansy could fight the smile she had because… she never thought this would happen.</p><p>“It sounds… perfect.  So, Saturday?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded, resting her head back on Pansy’s chest before speaking.</p><p>“Yeah.  11:00.”  Hermione said, a smile spreading across her lips as Pansy resumed running her finger around Hermione’s back and shoulders.</p><p>“Sounds wonderful.”  Pansy murmured, leaning down to kiss Hermione again, but she was stopped by hand on her shoulder and she looked down at Hermione, confused.</p><p>“Hold on… you can’t kiss me again until after the date.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy leaned back up.  That sounded like a stupid rule that should not exist.  And probably <em> did </em> not exist, but Hermione was deciding it to be a thing.</p><p>“What?  Why not?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged, looking up into Pansy’s eyes.  Oh, this was going to be annoying, Pansy just knew it.</p><p>“Because we aren’t together yet, Pans.” Hermione said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face as Pansy’s jaw dropped.  She was <em> not </em> doing this right now, it could be considered a little rude.</p><p>“You can’t just-.”  Pansy protested, and Hermione reached up and pressed a finger to Pansy’s lips to silence her.</p><p>“Oh, but I can.”  Hermione insisted, a damn near wicked grin on her face.  Pansy glared down at her and shook her head.</p><p>“... Wanker.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione tightly wrapped her arms around Pansy and tucked her head back against her chest. In that moment, Pansy honestly didn’t care about Hermione’s rule, she was just happy about how wrong she’d really been.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Interrogation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It didn’t exactly occur to Pansy that her mood may have changed ever since Granger asked her out, all she noticed was she wasn’t as annoyed by the entire world, which she thought was a good thing.  That is, until she noticed Daphne was looking at her with extreme skepticism.  Apparently happiness is now suspicious.</p><p>“Okay, tell me what the fuck is going on with you?”  Daphne asked, pushing her food to the side.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and shrugged.  There couldn’t possibly be <em> that </em> much different, so why would she owe Daphne an explanation? </p><p>“I have no idea what you’re on about.”  Pansy insisted, taking a bite of her food to keep herself occupied.  That had not satisfied Daphne’s suspicion, because she took Pansy’s plate and set it out of reach.  Pansy glared over at her, but Daphne either didn’t notice, or didn’t care because she still had an expectant look on her face.</p><p>“You’ve been happy recently, and not that normal, bullshit, I’m not sad but I’m not happy type but like <em> genuine </em> happiness.  You need to tell me what's up or knock it off because it's scaring the hell out of me, and some of the first years look genuinely terrified.”  Daphne explained, and this made Pansy chuckle a bit.  A good mood and not feeling like hexing everyone in sight was the <em> scary </em> side of her?  She never would've thought. </p><p>“I’m not allowed to be in a good mood?!”  Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head, clapping a hand onto Pansy’s shoulder as she spoke.</p><p>“No, generally not.  It’s not really in your nature, Parkinson.”  Daphne responded and Pansy huffed and shrugged her hand off.</p><p>“Well <em> maybe </em>I’m turning over a new leaf.”  Pansy said, and Daphne snorted and shook her head, seemingly at that very thought.  It really made Pansy want to hit her, so if she was trying to get angry, annoyed Pansy back, this was a pretty successful way to do it, she supposed.</p><p>“Doubtful, Tracey told me you were on your ‘nobody will ever love me’ bullshit during break which, why were you here?  I thought Granger was taking you to the Weasleys.”  She said, raising an eyebrow.  She clearly wanted the whole story, but Pansy thought if she could get <em> that </em> much intel from Tracey, why not make her work for the whole thing?  It seemed only fair after she gossiped behind her back. </p><p>“Oh that didn’t work out too well.” Pansy said, intentionally keeping it vague.  She wasn’t going to make this <em> easy </em> on Daphne, that was for sure.  Daphne raised an eyebrow and leaned a little closer, interest clearly peaked. </p><p>“What happened?” She asked, and Pansy shrugged, making sure to look extremely interested in the lines on the wood of the table, not wanting to give Daphne any form of satisfaction right now.</p><p>“Long story.”  Pansy said, keeping her voice bored.  Daphne elbowed her ribs and leaned a bit closer, clearly trying to be persuasive.</p><p>“Give me the abridged version.” Daphne insisted, and Pansy chuckled and raised her eyebrow.  She’d never seen Daphne so desperate for information, it was honestly kind of hilarious.  She never begged for anything, and here she was.</p><p>“You honestly want to know?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne sighed in frustration and nodded.  Pansy couldn’t say she wasn’t shocked, she really thought that Daphne was mostly just fucking with her.</p><p>“I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t curious.”  She sighed, and Pansy nodded and sighed, resting her chin on her hand as she started to explain.</p><p>“<em> Fine </em>.  Basically got called out on being a bitch-.”  Pansy started, and was cut off by Daphne snickering and shaking her head.</p><p>“Honestly, as they should.  You can be a bit… callous sometimes.”  She said, clearly amused.  Pansy glared at her and gripped her wand under the table, willing herself to have the strength <em>not </em>to hex her.</p><p>“Okay I’ve been disowned and told my family doesn’t love me, sue me for having negative emotions.” Pansy snapped and Daphne sighed and patted her arm.  It really made Pansy want to rip it off in that moment, so much for being more calm and collected.</p><p>“<em>Anyways</em>.”  Daphne said, clearly wanting the story to move along.  Pansy briefly considered just stopping right there, but she also didn’t feel like enduring Daphne’s annoyance for the entire day.</p><p>“And I decided I couldn’t spend that much time around a crush.”  Pansy said, trying to say that as casually as possibly, but she didn’t miss Daphne’s large grin at this.  She jostled Pansy’s shoulder and leaned close.</p><p>“Who is it?”  She asked, and Pansy didn’t want to say.  She didn’t know what would happen if she did.  Objectively, she knew nothing bad happened when she told Theo and Tracey, but this was the <em>Great Hall</em> that they were in, and everyone was back meaning more chance of someone overhearing her.</p><p>“No, I am not telling you that right now.”  She said and Daphne sighed and laid her head on the table before looking at Pansy with annoyance clear in her eyes.  This may not have seemed like a big deal to Daphne, but Pansy knew the repercussions if the wrong person was eavesdropping on her right now.</p><p>“Come <em>on </em>Pansy.”  Daphne whined, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She considered it, if not to make Daphne shut the fuck up more than anything else, but she also wanted to respect Hermione’s privacy.  They hadn’t had the talk of if they were telling people or not, Pansy assumed that they were based on the whole ‘date in Hogsmeade’ thing, but she could never be too careful.</p><p>“I don’t know if I’m allowed to-.”  Pansy was cut off by Tracey sliding in next to Daphne and sighing as she dug something out of the pocket of her robe.</p><p>“It’s Granger, you called it, here’s the 10 Galleons.”  She mumbled, and Pansy’s jaw dropped as Daphne grinned and pocketed the money.  What fucking assholes!</p><p>“Wait what the <em>fuck... </em>You guys <em>bet </em>on me?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shrugged, raising an eyebrow at her.  She should’ve expected this behavior from them, but for a moment she'd forgotten what her friends were actually like on a daily basis.</p><p>“We were bored.  Come on, did you honestly expect anything else?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy sighed.  Maybe some respect from her old friends?  That seemed like something she could expect at this point.</p><p>“Not <em>really</em>…”  She admitted and Daphne rested her head on her shoulder for a moment before speaking.</p><p>“Then don’t act so surprised.  Besides it's not like we were betting on something terrible, we were betting on something <em>inevitable</em>.” Daphne said with a grin and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What the bloody hell was that supposed to mean?  There was no need to be cryptic about this, she’d already won.</p><p>“What?”  She asked, and Daphne sighed and placed her hands on the table, looking Pansy straight on, with an intensity that made her a bit uncomfortable, if she was being honest at this point.</p><p>“Pans, I’ve never seen you be how you are with Granger.  It’s like something about you inherently softens and you look at her like she holds some huge secret of the universe.  It’s sweet, but also nauseating to watch.”  Daphne admitted and Pansy rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath.  That was the closest Daphne was going to get to human emotion and Pansy knew that for a fact.  Some people just aren’t wired to be nice… ever.</p><p>“Wow, so <em> kind </em> .”  Pansy sneered, and Daphne chucked. </p><p>“So are you going to do anything about it, or just sit around like some stupid lovesick fool.”  She asked and Pansy’s mouth dried up.  Could she talk about the date?  Was she allowed to?</p><p>“I… well…”  She stammered.  It was like all the words were stolen right out of her mouth in that moment.</p><p>“What?”  Tracey asked, far more patiently then Daphne had been asking things today.</p><p>“You can tell us, Pans.  It won’t go anywhere.”  Daphne insisted and Pansy sighed and looked down at the table.</p><p>“She <em> may </em> have asked me out on a date this weekend.”  Pansy mumbled and she heard a fork clatter on a plate, causing her to jump as both she and Daphne glanced over at Tracey, who looked shocked. </p><p>“What the fuck?!  When did she do that, you two have barely spoken this week.”  Tracey said and Pansy chuckled as she looked around Daphne to see Tracey.</p><p>“She asked me in private, I don’t know any time where it would be appropriate for her to ask me out in front of the entire school.”  Pansy explained, and Daphne and Tracey exchanged some kind of <em> look, </em> and Pansy couldn’t quite decipher it. </p><p>“And you’re going?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy arched her brow.  Why would she <em> not </em> be going on a date with a girl she’d had a crush on for months now? </p><p>“Why wouldn’t I be?”  She asked and Daphne sighed, picking at a stray string on her sweater as she spoke.</p><p>“It’s just… you’ve changed so much over this year… it's not a bad thing, I’m actually pretty happy for you.”  Daphne said, and Pansy had to laugh because she had quite the odd way of showing it.</p><p>“Okay, how do you figure that I’ve changed.”  Pansy asked, and Tracey cleared her throat.</p><p>“For one, this time last year you couldn’t even look at Granger without sneering.”  Tracey pointed out, and Pansy nodded.  They did have a point there, that was fair.</p><p>“Internalized homophobia will do that to a person.”  Pansy reminded her, and Tracey nodded.</p><p>“You never would’ve dated a woman.”  Daphne said, and of course she’d go for the most obvious one.  Pansy chuckled and shook her head as she thought about it.</p><p>“That would still be the case if Draco hadn’t <em>publicly </em>outed me and Crabbe and Goyle hadn’t told my parents.”  Pansy said and she saw Tracey’s jaw clench.  They’d spoken at length about this over the holiday, and Tracey had eventually agreed fully to <em>not </em>killing Crabbe and Goyle, mostly because Pansy had pointed out that she would be put in Azkaban.</p><p>“And you never would’ve been caught dead with a muggle.”  Daphne said, and Pansy shrugged, drumming her fingers on the table.</p><p>“I was an asshole about blood status but now that I’m disgraced… who really gives a shit, right?”  Pansy said, and saying that still hurt a little bit.  Like she knew eventually, when the dust settled a bit more, she might miss her parents but she didn’t know that she <em>surely </em>would, it was still an unbelievable thought.</p><p>“I mean… yeah.  Oh there she is.  Hey!  Granger!”  Daphne called out, and Pansy tried to slap her hand over the other girl’s mouth but she wasn’t fast enough.</p><p>“Daphne no-.”  Pansy said, still struggling to pull down Daphne’s waving hand, but Hermione caught sight of them and came over, looking a little suspicious.</p><p>“Yeah?”  Hermione asked, once got over to the table, and Pansy sighed.  This was it, she hadn’t even gone on the <em>date </em>yet and their relationship was going to be over, she could just tell.</p><p>“Shit…”  Pansy groaned, covering her face with her hands.  This was already mortifying, she couldn’t even imagine what Daphne was going to say to embarrass her more right now.  Or if that was even possible.</p><p>“So Pansy here tells me you asked her on a date?”  Daphne asked, her voice turning sickly sweet.  Hermione raised her eyebrow in surprise and looked at Pansy, the amusement clear on her face.</p><p>“I didn’t know we were <em>telling </em>people, but yes.  I did.  Why?”  Hermione asked, and Daphne pushed Tracey down and patted the seat that had been opened up between them before folding her hand on the table.</p><p>“Have a seat, Granger.”  Daphne said, her voice far too sweet still.  Hermione looked a little apprehensive and she glanced at Pansy for a moment.</p><p>“Um…”  She said and Daphne sighed and leaned across the table a little bit.  Pansy wanted to smack her for this, but she couldn’t do that while in the direct line of the teachers.</p><p>“Come on, I don’t bite.”  Daphne said, sounding all too innocent.  She was like a wolf in sheep's clothing, Pansy thought.</p><p>“Don’t trust her on that.”  Pansy muttered, which earned her a stomp on the foot from Daphne, who was careful to keep the smile on her face when Pansy yelped in pain.  She’d forgotten what a wanker Daphne can be when she wants to be one.  Hermione sighed and walked around the table, sinking down between Tracey and Daphne, looking like she was in some kind of enemy territory.</p><p>“... What is it, Greengrass?”  Hermione asked warily and Daphne dropped the fake smiling act and leaned closer to Hermione.</p><p>“Just some ground rules on dating my good friend here.”  She said seriously and Pansy grimaced and shook her head.</p><p>“That almost made me gag, please never phrase our friendship like that again, we hardly tolerate each other.”  Pansy insisted and Daphne shot her a quick glare and kicked her shin under the table.  Rude.</p><p>“Hey, shut the fuck up?  I’m talking here.”  Daphne said, and Pansy sighed and rested her chin on her hand, looking away from them.</p><p>“Whatever.”  She muttered and Daphne turned back to Hermione.</p><p>“Okay, anyways… treat her as well as she deserves, no better and no worse.  Obviously I’m not going to say you have to treat her <em> super </em> well, it <em> is </em> Parkinson.”  Daphne joked and Pansy whipped her head around and smacked Daphne’s arm. </p><p>“Oi!”  Pansy spat and Daphne chuckled and held her hands up in defense.</p><p>“Kidding!  Kidding.  Anyways, if you hurt her, just know that you are personally challenging me to a duel and I don’t fight fair.”  Daphne stated, and Pansy raised her eyebrow because yeah, the two of them were friends but she hadn’t realized Daph had actually <em> cared </em> about her at all.  It was all sarcasm and some comforting but not often. </p><p>“Noted.”  Hermione said and gave Pansy a look.  Pansy mouthed an apology and Hermione shook her head, and Pansy hoped that meant it wasn’t a big deal.</p><p>“Oh and… I’m happy for you two.  Pansy was sobbing about you the entire holiday break-.” Pansy coughed in order to stop Tracey from going on and cleared her throat.  She was going to <em> kill </em> Tracey. </p><p>“Tracey <em> shut up </em> .”  Pansy said through clenched teeth but it was too late, the damage was done at this point. </p><p>“Was she now?”  Hermione asked, a smirk on her lips as she looked over at Pansy.  She felt her face get hot as she glared at Tracey.</p><p>“Look what you’ve done, you’ve made her all smug.  I oughta kick your ass for that one.”  She growled and Tracey laughed and shook her head, as if the very idea was ridiculous.</p><p>“You wouldn’t.”  Tracey said, with such confidence that it made Pansy want to cave her face in.  She didn’t like cockiness.</p><p>“Try me, Davis.”  Pansy growled, pulling out her wand, but before she could do it, Daphne slowly pressed Pansy’s arm to the table and shook her head with a faux disapproving look.  Pansy knew she’d love to actually see a duel between Tracey and her, it was in Daphne’s nature.</p><p>“Ladies, ladies.  Lets not fight.  Oh, you can go now, Granger.  That was all.”  Daphne said, waving off the Gryffindor.  Hermione stood up and smoothed out her skirt.</p><p>“Alright… Pans?”  Hermione asked, turning around before she left.  Pansy looked up at her with a raised eyebrow.  What else could she want right now?</p><p>“Yeah?”  She asked, and Hermione cleared her throat, picking at her cuticles as she spoke, not meeting Pansy’s eyes.</p><p>“Will I see you in the library later?  I can look over your Transfiguration essay.”  She said, and Pansy had no idea why Hermione had looked so nervous saying that, they’d been studying together for months now.</p><p>“Wouldn’t miss it.”  Pansy insisted, letting herself smile so as to put Hermione at ease.  It worked, the other girl returned her smile and seemed a little calmer</p><p>“Great.”  Hermione said and once she was gone, Daphne gagged and gave Pansy a look</p><p>“Is this what we’re going to have to put up with now?”  She whined and Pansy raised her eyebrow. What was so wrong with <em> that </em> ?  Pansy honestly couldn’t tell. </p><p>“Okay how was that <em> any </em> different than before?”  Pansy asked and Daphne sighed and looked at her. </p><p>“‘Wouldn’t miss it’”  She mimicked in a higher voice, trying to sound lovesick, and Pansy’s jaw dropped as she kicked Daphne as hard as she could under the table.</p><p>“I do <em> not </em> fucking sound like that!”  Pansy insisted, knowing her voice cracked on the word not. Daphne chuckled as she rubbed her shin, probably to soothe the stinging. </p><p>“Yes, you do.  I’d know, I have ears.”  Daphne said with a smirk, pushing Pansy’s plate back in front of her.</p><p>“Bitch.”  Pansy mumbled, and took another bite of her now-cold food.</p><hr/><p>This was <em> supremely </em> stupid, and Pansy knew it.  So why continue doing it?  Because she wasn’t going to let her two idiot <em> friends </em>get their asses caught that easily, it wasn't good for the Slytherin reputation.</p><p>“I don’t know why you woke me up to sneak out of the dorms, if we get caught I’m going to lose my ability to go on a date on Saturday.”  Pansy hissed as they crept down the hallway.  She normally wouldn’t be so worried, but for once she had something that made her <em> care </em> if she got detention or not.  Tracey swatted her arm as they snuck around a corner. </p><p>“Oh shut up!  I just want to get the firewhiskey I left in the kitchens during break, alright?  Once I have that we can go back to the dorms.”  Tracey insisted in a low whisper and Pansy sent her a glare that for sure could <em> not </em> be seen in this darkness. </p><p>“Fine, but <em> hurry </em> .  I’m serious, I cannot get in trouble, Hermione would murder me.” She mumbled and Tracey shrugged and rolled her eyes. </p><p>“That’s on you for dating someone obsessed with rules.”  Tracey teased and Pansy lightly smacked her arm, feeling her cheeks get a little warm.  Hermione wasn’t obsessed with rules, yes she wanted order but that was different.  She wouldn’t be best friends with Harry if she was obsessed with the rules, and Pansy knew that.</p><p>“She is not!  She’s broken the rules on multiple occasions.  And we aren’t dating yet!”  Pansy hissed and Tracey quirked an eyebrow at Pansy</p><p>“She’s never gotten in trouble…”  She said and Pansy sighed.  That did irritate her, knowing that Hermione had used magic outside of school, that she’d used spells that she wasn’t supposed to use, broken curfew on multiple occasions and she’d never gotten in trouble.  It felt like some very obvious favoritism.</p><p>“Benefit of being a Gryffindor, I guess.”  Pansy whispered, and Theo stopped dead, holding a finger up to the two girls to quiet them.</p><p>“Hold on, shh!  I hear someone.”  He whispered, and Pansy listened but couldn’t hear <em> whatever </em> small sound Theo was hearing. </p><p>“Really? I can’t-<em> mmph </em> .”  He slammed his hand over her mouth, and Pansy resisted the urge to lick it to make him let go of her, it seemed a little childish.  Like it would <em> work </em> but at what cost to her reputation. </p><p>“I said <em> shut up </em> . Someone is in that classroom.”  Theo hissed, and Pansy pried his hand off of her mouth. </p><p>“Who would be in that classroom this late, it's damn near one in the morning.”  She asked and Theo shrugged, a mischievous grin coming onto his face.  Oh, this wasn’t going to end well, and Pansy could already tell.</p><p>“Let's find out.”  He said, and Tracey nodded, both of them racing to the entrance of the classroom.  Pansy sighed in annoyance and sprinted after them, willing to do anything to not get in trouble, even if it meant putting a body locking curse on both of them and <em> dragging </em> them to the kitchen at this point. </p><p>“Theo!  Tracey!  Get back here, no!”  She hissed, and Theo quirked his brow at her.</p><p>“Come on, Parkinson.  I know you’re curious.”  He insisted.  Of course Theo was right, Pansy wanted to know what was going on behind that door as much as anyone else, but she wasn’t going to <em> say </em> it. </p><p>“... Okay, fine.”  Pansy mumbled, and Tracey almost clapped her hands in excitement, but Theo held them together with a look of warning on his face as he began to inch the door open.</p><p>“Slowly, now.  We don’t want to spook them.” Theo whispered, as if they were talking about a Hippogriff.  But what they did see, none of them could have been prepared for in a thousand years.  Draco Malfoy with his tongue down the throat of one <em> Harry Potter </em> , looking like he’d been thoroughly kissed already at this point.  Pansy’s jaw dropped open. </p><p>“.... Oh <em> Merlin </em> .”  She whispered, and Theo nodded, crinkling his brows together. </p><p>“I knew Draco was hiding something but I never thought-.”  Tracey cut them both off with a satisfied grin on her face.</p><p>“I called it.”  She said and Pansy smacked her hard for that one, hard enough that she actually winced.  There was no ‘calling it’  there was just finding out <em> why </em> Draco felt he had to hide this from his housemates.  Other than the obvious part of the equation where his father would disown him on the spot if he knew. </p><p>“<em> Tracey. </em> ”  She hissed, and Tracey shrugged and looked at the ground for a moment, as if getting chastised didn’t happen to her all the time.  It did, Pansy didn’t know why she had to be so damn dramatic all the time. </p><p>“I’m just saying! I did, obviously I didn’t think it was with Gryffindor’s golden boy, but still… I called it.”  Tracey mumbled, apparently a little too loudly because the boys broke apart and looked their way, but Theo tugged them all to the side quick enough that they weren’t seen.</p><p>“Who’s there?!”  Harry called, and Theo sucked in his breath as he pushed Pansy and Tracey down the hall.</p><p>“Shit.  Run!”  He said, and of course both Tracey and Theo could make it around the corner faster than Pansy.</p><p>“<em> Locomortis Mortis!” </em> Draco shouted, and Pansy felt her legs lock up as she fell over.  She groaned in pain just a bit when she hit the ground because <em> of course </em>he’d hit her with it in a way so that she fell onto her face.</p><p>“<em> Fuck! </em> ”  She groaned, and she heard Draco running towards her, and thought she should try and get out of this, before remembering her legs <em> literally </em>didn’t work right now.  So instead, she accepted her inevitable fate of Draco possibly using Obliviate on her to make her forget.</p><p>“Now who are you- Pansy?”  He said quietly when he flipped her over and Pansy sighed and rested her head back on the ground as she looked at him.  He looked terrified, like some kind of caged animal.</p><p>“It wasn’t my idea, I swear, Dray.”  She said quietly, and Draco’s eyebrow’s crinkled together in confusion as he glanced around the seemingly empty hallway.</p><p>“Who else-.”  Pansy sighed and cut him off.</p><p>“You know that both Theo and Tracey can outrun me.”  She explained and Draco’s expression changed as he lowered his wand a bit.</p><p>“Hold on.” He said, muttering the counter curse, and Pansy stretched her legs out, grateful for the ability to move again.  “Give me your hand.”  Draco said, and she took his and let him pull her to her feet.  They stood in a thick, awkward silence for as long as Pansy could manage.</p><p>“How long?”  Pansy finally asked, and Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  This was tearing him apart, Pansy could tell.</p><p>“... Since early September.”  He said and Pansy’s brows crinkled together.  That was around the time he’d <em> decided </em> to let the entire world know about something that she found extremely terrifying.  Had he really done that to save his own ass? </p><p>“Draco you outed me-.”  Draco pulled in a deep breath and looked at her, his eyes showing regret, Pansy had to give him that.</p><p>“I <em> told </em> you, I had to do what I had to do, alright?”  Draco whispered, and he looked like he was so fragile that if someone touched him, he might just shatter on the spot. </p><p>“Dray?”  Pansy asked carefully, and Draco let out a choked sob and shook his head, looking at her as tears began to fall down his face.</p><p>“Fuck, Pansy.  I’m… I’m so sorry I’m just… I’m <em> scared </em> .”  He said shakily and Pansy cleared her throat, trying to figure out what she was supposed to ask him right now. </p><p>“What are you scared of?”  She asked, and Draco looked at her like she was stupid.  Okay yeah, fair because Pansy <em> did </em> know exactly what Draco was afraid of.  She used to be terrified of the same thing. </p><p>“Are you kidding me?  My father would <em> murder </em> me if he knew I was… that I liked…”  He couldn’t even say it. </p><p>“Boys?”  She offered, and he nodded, letting his face fall into his hands.</p><p>“Yeah… specifically <em> the </em>boy.”  He said, his voice muffled.  In that moment he just looked so small and broken that Pansy could shrink him back down to the first time he’d gotten a quidditch injury second year, and he actually thought he was going to die.</p><p>“Hey, it’ll all be okay… come here.”  Pansy said, and pulled Draco against her chest.  To her surprise he immediately wrapped his arms around her and tucked his face into her shoulder, letting out a long, strangled sob.</p><p>“I’m a disgrace.”  He whispered, and Pansy shook her head as she stroked through his hair, thinking up creative ways to murder Lucius Malfoy for what he was doing to his own son.  He was killing his own child with his poisonous views.</p><p>“No you <em>aren’t</em>.  If Lucius Malfoy can’t find it in his heart to accept his child then he’s a wanker… actually, either way he’s a wanker.  But you’re not a disgrace, okay?  It took me a while to get that through my head about myself, but the sooner the better.”  Pansy mumbled, against his hair, and they both heard footsteps behind them.</p><p>“Babe?  Who's out there.”  She heard Potter call, and Draco stiffened and stood fully up again.</p><p>“Hey Potter…”  Pansy said, offering a weak smile as Draco straightened up and wiped his eyes, clearly not willing to show his weakness around the Gryffindor boy yet.  Pansy's heart ached for him because she’d <em>been </em>there.  Hell, half the time she was still there.</p><p>“Pansy what are you-.”  Potter started, and Draco pulled in a shaky breath and cleared his throat.</p><p>“It wasn’t her idea, she got outrun when they got caught.”  He mumbled, and Potter silent for a moment before clearing his throat, the discomfort very clear on his face.  Obviously <em>neither </em>of them were ready for this to come out.</p><p>“Um… well now you know.”  Potter mumbled, his face betraying his clear embarrassment and Pansy sighed, flicking some hair out of her face as she spoke.</p><p>“Now I know.”  She said, and Potter scuffed his shoe on the ground.</p><p>“Any questions?” He asked, and Pansy thought about it.  She had to ask Harry the questions she did have privately.</p><p>“Hold on.  Draco, stay here.  Potter, with me.”  Pansy instructed, and Potter followed her around the corner, out of Draco’s earshot.</p><p>“What is it?”  He asked, and Pansy sighed.  She wasn’t sure if she even <em>wanted </em>to ask this question, but she needed to know for the sake of Draco’s heart.</p><p>“Do you care about him, or is this just hooking up for you?”  Pansy asked, and Potter looked genuinely confused by this question.</p><p>“Pansy of course I-.”  Pansy shook her head.  She didn’t need that extra fluff around his sentence, she needed to know he <em>meant </em>what he said.</p><p>“No.  Answer me without the whole Golden boy twist on it.”  Pansy instructed, and Potter swallowed heavily as he glanced around, looking anywhere but his eyes.</p><p>“I care about him… he’s different when we’re alone.”  Potter muttered, and Pasny smiled a little at that.  It was good to know Draco was able to let his guard down a bit sometimes.</p><p>“Okay.  I’m gonna tell you some things, and you’re going to listen, got it?”  Pasny asked, arching her eyebrow.  She knew she could look intimidating, and she hoped this was one of the times that she was, even in sleep shorts and a tank top with no makeup on.</p><p>“Got it.”  Potter said, and closed his mouth.  Oh good, he <em>did</em> know how to do that.</p><p>“Draco may not seem it, but he’s fragile.  The kind of upbringing we’ve had… it wasn’t easy, and I know yours wasn’t either I’m not stupid.  But if you <em>ever </em>want him to go public with you, you <em>have </em>to wait for him to come to terms with who he is.  And you can’t rush him, okay?”  Pansy said, and Harry looked confused.</p><p>“I wasn’t-.”  Pansy cut him off and shook her head.  He was misunderstanding where she was coming from.</p><p>“Never said you were, I was just warning you.  And Draco and I have had our… <em>issues </em>this year, but I do care about him.  And if you ever, and I mean <em>ever </em>break his heart… I will make you sorry you ever laid eyes on him, do I make myself clear?”  Pansy asked, and Harry looked a little concerned as he nodded.</p><p>“Crystal.”  He insisted, and Pansy nodded, satisfied with the ‘hurt my friend and die’ part of the conversation.</p><p>“Good.  Now.  I do believe it's time to officially do this.” Potter looked confused as Pansy held out a hand for him to shake.  “Pansy Parkinson.”  She said, and he shook it, still looking confused.</p><p>“Uh… Harry Potter.”  He mumbled, and Pansy grinned.  If this was her friend’s… was it boyfriend?  She didn’t know if they were <em>dating </em>or just together, because there was a difference, but anyways.  Whatever this was, she figured she should use his real name, and the best way to make it official was a reintroduction.</p><p>“Good.  <em>Harry</em>.  Promise me one more thing?”  She asked, and Harry raised his eyebrow as he leaned against the wall.</p><p>“What?”  he asked, and Pansy sighed.  She did find it a little stupid, how much she still felt obligated to make sure Draco was happy all the time.  It wasn’t really her job anymore.</p><p>“Treat him well.  He’s never really felt love or real affection, so… treat him well.”  She muttered, and Harry smiled at her, a full one this time, and nodded.</p><p>“I plan to.”  Harry said and Pansy smiled, satisfied with his answers. And confident he knew what would happen if he messed up any of them.</p><p>“Good.  Now let's get back to him.”  Pansy said, and they walked back to where Draco had decided to sit down with his knees pulled to his chest on the ground.  Once he heard footsteps he scrambled to his feet and cleared his throat, trying to look like he wasn’t still crying.</p><p>“What did you two talk about?”  Draco asked and Pansy shrugged, wiping a stray tear off of his face.</p><p>“I was just giving him my blessing, and warning him about how he will get treated if he hurts you.”  She explained and Draco’s face dropped.</p><p>“Pans-.”  He started, and Pansy held a hand up to silence him.</p><p>“We’ve had our shit, Dray.  I’m not denying that but… you’re important to me.  And I’ll be damned if you get hurt.”  She said, and it was one of the truest things she’d ever said.  Draco let a small smile play on his lips as she rocked back on his heels</p><p>“... Thanks.”  He muttered, and Pansy nodded, and patted his cheek before taking a step back from them.</p><p>“Now get back to your dorms, both of you.  Before I dock house points from Gryffindor <em> and </em> Slytherin.” She said with a wink and Draco gave her a look. </p><p>“Pansy, I’m a prefect too.”  He reminded her and Pansy arched her brow and crossed her arms at him</p><p>“Are you arguing with me?”  Pansy asked, smirking at Draco who sighed and shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck.  He knew he would not be winning this fight.</p><p>“... No.  We’re going.”  Draco said, and they turned around to walk away.</p><p>“That's what I thought.  I’ll see you down there, Draco.  Harry, I’ll see you tomorrow.  Oh, one more thing, boys?”  Pansy called and both of them turned around to look at them.</p><p>“What?” Draco asked, and Pansy chuckled and pointed at his tie, and when Draco looked down, his eyes widened.</p><p>“You might want to make sure you switch your ties back, like I get you might’ve gotten dressed in the dark but red and green do <em>not </em>look alike.  So if you want to keep this private, do that.”  She instructed and Draco nodded.</p><p>“Thanks, Pans.”  He said, and the two boys disappeared around a corner, and Pansy continued her walk to the kitchen.  The second she got inside she felt two small arms slide around her and she could practically <em>smell </em>the firewhiskey.  Really?  In that short of a time?</p><p>“What took you so long?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy shrugged, wriggling out of her arms quickly.  It was far too late to have someone clinging on to her.</p><p>“I was talking stuff over with them.”  She explained, and Theo raised an eyebrow as he leaned against a counter.</p><p>“And?”  He asked.   Pansy took a deep breath and leaned against the closest wall.  She would do anything to keep this secret, she’d never seen Draco look so afraid before.</p><p>“You guys can’t say anything about what you saw.”  Pansy murmured and Tracey’s jaw dropped.</p><p>“But-.”  She started and Pansy gave her a look, and the words died in her throat.</p><p>“No I’m <em>serious</em>.  If I see it being spread around I will hex both of you within an inch of your lives.”  She threatened, and Theo raised his hands in surrender, pushing off the countertop.</p><p>“Got it.”  Theo said, and Pansy nodded and sighed, her head pounding a little bit.  This was a lot more stress then she had willingly signed up for, but that came with the territory of Hogwarts she'd come to realize.</p><p>“Good.  Now where’s the firewhiskey?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey grinned and pulled it out of her robe, letting Pansy take a drink as Theo scouted ahead.  Pretty eventful for just going to grab a drink</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. A date</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry, this chapter is a little shorter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>If everything didn't end up perfect for this date, Pansy was fairly certain she might just set herself on fire because she was trying so hard to look perfect that it would be a travesty if it was all for not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you just pick something to wear already?  I swear you’ve cycled through half your clothes by now and it's starting to stress </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>out.”  Daphne groaned, lowering her Potions textbook onto her face as she spoke.  Pansy shot her a look and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck off, Daph.  This has to be perfect, it's our first date.  If I mess this up, then that sets the tune for the rest of our relationship and I can’t have that.”  She explained and Daphne let out a long breath and sat up, running a hand through her hair.  Pansy could tell she was irritated, she had every reason to be as well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, Hermione’s gonna like you no matter what you’re wearing, she isn’t dating you for your </span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing </span>
  </em>
  <span>fashion sense.”  Daphne insisted, and Pansy’s jaw dropped in shock as she looked back at Daphne.  Did she </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>just imply that Pansy had a bad fashion sense, that was almost more offensive than…. Okay, it wasn’t more offensive than all the other shit from this year, but it still hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!”  Pansy spat, and the other girl chuckled and shook her head.  Pansy honestly considered hexing her for a moment, but if she dodged it would for sure open up one of the windows and the room would flood out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>me saying that you don’t have an amazing fashion sense, I wouldn’t steal your clothes so much if I hated them.  I was just pointing out the fact that she didn’t ask you out </span>
  <em>
    <span>for </span>
  </em>
  <span>that reason.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed and ran a hand through her hair to settle it in place.  She supposed Daphne was right, Hermione never really seemed to care </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy looked like, she just wanted to spend time together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…” She murmured, and Daphne smirked and put a hand on Pansy's shoulder.  Pansy didn’t appreciate the grin on Daphne’s face, like she knew something she shouldn’t know.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like doesn’t she literally have a photo of you-.”  Pansy’s eyes widened.  Tracey had </span>
  <em>
    <span>promised, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she’d given her word that she wouldn’t say anything about it, goddamnit.  Pansy considered in that moment just how quickly she could end Tracey's life if she wanted to, and if the other girl couldn't figure out how to keep a secret.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re talking about the one from Christmas day then I am going to <em>kill </em>Tracey for not being able to keep her fucking mouth shut.”  Pansy growled and Daphne sighed and rubbed Pansy’s upper back in an attempt to calm her down.  The attempt did not work, if anything it made Pansy angrier because she felt like she was being told what to do even though it was <em>her </em>privacy that had been breached.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s sort of sweet if you think about it, that the only photo she has of you is you looking a way you’d never look on purpose.  She caught you all natural, and that is admittedly hard to do.  I swear you wake up wearing makeup when you’re here.”  Daphne said with a small chuckle and this did make Pansy smile.  It was always her intent to be quick enough with her makeup that people hardly ever saw her with it off, because there was a reason she wore it.  It pulled her outfits together.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’ve just become very efficient.”  Pansy explained and Daphne snorted and rolled her eyes, which Pansy found entirely unnecessary, she hadn’t even said anything at that point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I’ve noticed.  Now, you look terrific, don’t be late.”  Daphne said, patting both of Pansy’s shoulders before steering her towards the door with purpose.  Hm, she could be wrong but something told Pansy that Daphne wanted her to hurry up and leave already.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t be.”  Pansy insisted, but Daphne had already all but shoved her out the door at that point, which just does wonders for someone’s self esteem, knowing that their friend was just waiting for them to leave (in actuality, she probably <em>was </em>trying to keep Pansy from being late, but it still felt a little rude)<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And tell me all about it when you get back.”  Daphne called as Pansy started walking out to the common room.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever!”  Pansy called behind her, and made it through the Slytherin entrance with little to no incidents and was surprised to come face to face with Hermione, down here, and not where they had decided to meet outside.  All Pansy could think though was that Hermione still managed to look breathtaking, like nothing she’d ever seen before.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy… hey.”  Hermione said, pulling herself off the wall, and Pansy snapped back into reality and smiled at her.  How long had she been zoned out?  She hoped it wasn't long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Hi.  I thought we were going to meet outside… not that I’m not happy to see you, just surprised.”  Pansy said, sounding a little bit breathless as she explained.  Hermione shrugged and ran a hand through her hair before she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured this would be faster, plus it's a little cold to stand outside and wait.”  She explained, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  There was an implication there that she wasn’t going to let slide right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you implying that I would be late?”  Pansy asked, a little bit amused, and Hermione chuckled and laced their fingers together.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling, you already were.”  She said and Pansy’s face fell.  She’d meant to be watching the time, but somehow she’d known this was going to happen.  It shouldn’t be that hard, just be on time, but she was really struggling with it for whatever reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  I guess I didn’t really look at the clock…”  Pansy murmured, feeling a bit guilty for keeping her waiting for long, and Hermione must’ve been  able to tell because she ran her hand up and down Pansy’s back for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.  So, are you ready to go?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  She was so ready to go, she was hardly able to sleep the night before.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, lead the way.”  Pansy said, willing her voice to say steady and luckily, it worked.  As they started up the stairs together, Hermione began to talk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I was thinking we could get a drink at the Three Broomsticks, how does that sound?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  They could literally do anything Hermione wanted, she didn’t care what it was.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It sounds great to me.”  Pansy said quietly, and they were silent for a moment before Hermione cleared her throat and cast a glance over at Pansy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look really nice, by the way.  I meant to say that when you walked out but it slipped my mind.”  Hermione said, and Pansy felt her face get a little bit hot.  She honestly didn’t think that she would ever get used to Hermione complimenting her, it just sounded <em>so </em>amazing coming out of her mouth.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thanks.  You look nice too.”  Pansy said, knowing her voice came out a little stinted.  Sue her, she was nervous.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Ground rule.”  Hermione said seriously, and Pansy looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.  What could this possibly be about, they’d barely even left the castle and hadn’t even done anything yet.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and looked over at her again, this time more head on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lets not let this affect our ability to converse, because that would be a travesty.”  Hermione said, and Pansy nodded.  She completely agreed with that, she wouldn’t want to date someone she had trouble having conversations with, that sounded horrible.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh of course, that would defeat the purpose of us going on a date to begin with, because sitting in silence isn’t exactly something I enjoy, and I happen to know that you don’t either.  Always needing to fill the air with random words-.”  Hermione smacked her arm and gave her a look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t act like you don’t like it.” Hermione said and Pansy shook her head.  When had she ever said she didn’t like it?  She never once said that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not acting like that!  I love listening to you talk-.”  Hermione cut her off with a small chuckle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy glanced at her and saw she was biting back a smile. How did she always look so perfect?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be weird about it, ‘Mione.  You’re just… interesting.”  Pansy said, and Hermione’s face fell a little bit as she chewed on her lip.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That could either be an insult </span>
  <em>
    <span>or </span>
  </em>
  <span>a compliment, do enlighten me on which you were intending.”  Hermione said, sounding a little bit clinical.  Did she honestly think that Pansy would be insulting her right now?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Definitely complimenting you right now.”  Pansy said, and Hermione let out a relieved little laugh and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  Thats… I guess that makes more sense.”  Hermione said quietly and Pansy smirked and looked down at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Considering we’re on a date?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione chuckled and nodded, resting her head on Pansy’s arm for a moment before looking back up at her.  There was something in that look that just made Pansy's heart skip a beat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Considering we’re on a date.”  Hermione confirmed, and Pansy smiled to herself, and thought about a question she’d had for a while.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you ever think this would happen when we started working together on that project?  Like… did you ever think this was a possibility, or did it just happen out of nowhere for you?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione chewed on her lip as she thought about it.  It made Pansy a little bit nervous how long it was taking Hermione to respond.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, objectively I’m not blind I obviously knew you were a very pretty girl, Pansy.  But at the time that <em>was </em>overshadowed by how you treated people, and I thought you were rude and ignorant and I basically wanted to spend as little time around you as possible.”  Hermione said, and Pansy blinked.  She didn’t exactly know if that was good or if that was bad, it seemed to have both in it… but also it didn’t answer Pansy’s question.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh.  Thats-.”  Hermione cut her off with a look and raised a finger to silence her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Anyways, you grew on me little by little, but I think the first time I really </span>
  <em>
    <span>noticed </span>
  </em>
  <span>the shift was when I saved you from getting hit in the face at the Whomping Willow.  Something about it just… I don’t even know how to explain it, it just shifted my perspective on you.”  She explained, and Pansy smiled at this.  That was around the same time she’d realized she’d liked Hermione, so honestly what took them so long?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s actually really sweet.”  Pansy murmured, and Hermione gave her an odd look about what she’d said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you think it wouldn’t be?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy arched an eyebrow and sighed.  She was never completely sure how things were going to go for her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you have to be prepared for the worst, ‘Mione.  Or else how will you enjoy the best?”  Pansy asked and Hermione snorted and shook her head.  Pansy wasn’t entirely sure what was funny about what she said, she was being serious.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was ominous.”  Hermione said and Pansy sighed.  Okay so <em>that </em>was why she laughed, makes more sense now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I try my best.”  She said as they walked into the pub.  Hermione released Pansy’s hand and moved it to her lower back.  Pansy straightened up a bit and tried not to look like the small change in placement made her feel like she was going to faint.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go sit down, I’ll get our drinks.” Hermione said, leading Pansy to a small booth in the back.  Pansy raised her eyebrow and drummed her fingers on the table as she looked up at Hermione with a raised eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you-.”  Hermione sighed and cut her off, pinching the bridge of her nose.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  There's a reason <em>I’m </em>getting the drinks and you’re not.”  Hermione explained and Pansy let a large smile spread across her face as she caught Hermione’s hand and lightly kissed the back of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a lifesaver.”  Pansy said and Hermione smirked and put both her hands on the table, leaning down until she was only an inch or so away from Pansy’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said that the last time we were here too.”  She murmured, running her finger up Pansy’s jaw.  She really thought Hermione said they weren’t going to kiss each other until the end of the date, but she wasn’t complaining.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I wasn’t wrong.”  Pansy whispered, and closed her eyes, expecting to feel Hermione kiss her, but after a moment she opened her eyes and the other girl was gone.  Pansy groaned and covered her face because <em>that </em>was rather rude and unexpected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?  What are you doing here?”  Pansy looked behind her and breathed out a sigh of relief that it wasn’t someone she couldn’t stand seeing.  Just Ginny Weasley standing with two bottles of butterbeer, which either meant she was on a date, or just having a rough night.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Ginny, uh… I’m on a date.”  Pansy murmured, and she watched as a large grin spread across Ginny’s face.  She should’ve thought it through, she should’ve known that Ginny was going to be cocky about this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Hermione said she was going on a date too, any idea about that?”  Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow.  Pansy sighed and rubbed her temples, sort of not wanting to even answer right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Okay so I’m on a date with Hermione.”  Pansy muttered, and Ginny chuckled and shook her head, leaning against the wall opposite her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t it funny how we came full circle?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  What the hell was that supposed to mean?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked in a monotone voice, and Ginny took a sip of her butterbeer before talking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>The first time I asked if you had feelings for Hermione was in this pub, and now look at you guys… I was right.”  Ginny said, sounding like she’d just won some kind of lottery.  Pansy sighed and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny…”  She started and Ginny shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  I’m not being rude, I’m really happy for you guys I was just pointing out-.”  Pansy sighed and gave her a significant look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get it.”  Pansy snapped, and Ginny let out a low whistle and shook her head.  Pansy did feel bad for snapping, but Ginny wasn’t getting that she needed to let it go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright… I’ll leave you to it.” Ginny said, and Pansy nodded, running her fingers along the grains of wood on the table.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.”  She murmured, and the other witch walked off, probably to go find her girlfriend.  Honestly Pansy didn't care, just so long as she left Pansy alone right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here’s your drink… why do you look so pissed?”  Hermione asked as she handed Pansy a firewhiskey.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and shook her head as she took a sip from her drink.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  I’m not pissed.”  Pansy said, and she hated that Hermione was looking at her like she was lying because she <em>wasn't </em>lying, she wasn't pissed of</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy… I’ve literally been on the receiving end of your anger, what's wrong.”  Hermione said and Pansy shrugged.  There genuinely wasn’t anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she was just annoyed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Ginny just got on my nerves for a moment, seriously I’m over it.”  Pansy insisted as Hermione sat down next to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why was she getting on your nerves.”  Hermione asked, tucking some of Pansy’s hair behind her ear.  Pansy almost felt bad for how concerned Hermione looked because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>fine, she was just still irritated.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… so you remember when Ginny pulled me outside to talk?”  Pansy asked, fiddling with her glass, refusing to make eye contact.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you were talking about Luna and quidditch… which now that I think about it probably isn’t true.”  Hermione murmured.  She shouldn’t tell her, she should just keep it to herself.   What if </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>is enough to make Hermione decide that she wasn’t interested anymore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not, we were talking about you.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione nodded, resting her chin on her hand.  Pansy thanked Merlin that she didn’t look mad about Pansy hiding that for so long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gathered that much.  What about me?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed.  She really didn’t want to expose this, but it wasn’t like it wasn’t obvious now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wanted to know if I fancied you, which I did but I didn’t want to say it because I was scared she was going to tell you.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione looked like that didn’t surprise her  at all.  Pansy kind of wished it would, she would feel a bit better.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I wasn’t so hellbent on not seeing it at first, I probably would’ve noticed it.” Hermione said and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She knew that to everyone else in the world that </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermione she had been shit at hiding it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>fairly obvious.”  Pansy said, and Hermione didn’t take too kindly to that.  She smacked Pansy upside the head and went to scoot a little further away, but Pansy pulled her back.  She let Hermione rest her head on her chest.  After a few moments, Hermione let out a long sigh and looked up for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You smell really nice.”  Hermione said, and Pansy grinned against the top of her head.  She wanted to ask if it was what she’d smelled in the Amortentia, but it seemed a little bit soon for her to know that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’ve noted before.”  Pansy murmured, running her fingers up and down Hermione’s back, trying to ignore the few pairs of eyes she felt on them right now, just trying to feel okay with <em>being </em>right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so I’m not allowed to compliment my girlfriend?”  Hermione asked with a chuckle and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  Girlfriend, huh?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, am I your girlfriend?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sat up, and Pansy instantly regretted her sarcasm because she looked a little bit scared right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… I-I mean if you want-.” Pansy cut her off with a gentle kiss, just long enough to make sure that Hermione’s fears died in her throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sh.  Absolutely.”  Pansy muttered, and a relieved smile spread across Hermione’s face as she reached back up and pulled Pansy back into another kiss, and for the first time since everything had come out, Pansy didn’t feel uncomfortable just existing.  She probably should, she was pretty sure <em>anyone </em>would be disappointed in her for almost making out with her girlfriend in the middle of a pub, but she really didn’t care at this point.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After weeks of sitting with and working with Hermione in every class that was available to her, Pansy realized just how useless Daphne and her were when they worked together, it was like they were trying to get nothing done.  Like honestly, how difficult can it be to transfigure a gnome into a garden gnome without getting your fingers bit off?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin </span>
  </em>
  <span>I am thirty seconds away from throwing this little asshole out the window!”  Daphne growled as she shook the gnome away from where it was biting her robes.  Pansy stifled a laugh at the action and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t do that, we both need to learn this.”  Pansy pointed out and Daphne let out a frustrated sigh and pushed the gnome back with the point of her wand, glaring down as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry but when will we </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>need to do this?!  I literally cannot think of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>single </span>
  </em>
  <span>fucking time.” She hissed, and Professor McGonagall looked at them over her glasses, the annoyance pretty clear in her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“10 points from Slytherin for inappropriate language.”  She called out and Pansy put her head on the table and groaned.  That was </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>reason they didn’t work together that often anymore, it always ended in a reduction of house points.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin’s beard, Daph!  That's the third time!”  Pansy groaned.  The other witch glared at her and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, yeah I’ll take full and complete credit for two of them but last time I checked ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>you little fucking dickmuncher’</span>
  </em>
  <span> is also inappropriate language  Fair reason for it to be said, getting bit by these bastards, but still.”  Daphne said with a wry smirk.  Pansy opened her mouth to defend herself but was interrupted by McGonagall's disappointed voice ringing across the classroom.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss Greengrass!  Are you trying to go for a total of 40 points gone from Slytherin in one class?”  She asked, and Daphne swallowed heavily, and refused to meet the Professor’s eyes.  Pansy didn’t exactly blame her for that, McGonagall could be a little… daunting when things went wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, professor.  My apologies.” Daphne mumbled.  Pansy chuckled and bumped the other girl’s shoulder, trying in vain to make her laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice one, Daph.”  Pansy muttered, and Daphne stomped on her foot, causing her to cry out.  McGonagall glanced at the pair again over her glasses and Pansy tried her best to look unaffected by the pain in her foot as she gave the Professor a look of apology for her sudden outburst.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up.”  Daphne growled, and Pansy looked down with some annoyance.  Her shoe was scuffed now, and she was in pain.  Was it really worth it to try and get Daph’s mind off things?  Probably not, but Pansy didn’t see that as a reason to give up now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, I would, but it's far more fun to make fun of you.”  Pansy teased, causing the other girl to slam her hands on the table and look her head on.  Oh, this should be fun, Pansy quite liked when Daphne got a bit fired up, made for more interesting conversation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know I could hex you and no one would do anything to stop me right now, right?”  Daphne snapped, her eyes narrowing.  Pansy arched her eyebrow and smirked.  While Daphne wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>smiling </span>
  </em>
  <span>her mind seemed to be taken off the fact that she’d just lost them house points, so Pansy would still take that as a win in her book.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, I said it was fun to make fun of you, I never said I wasn’t aware of the consequences.”  Pansy said cooly, and Daphne let out a snort and nodded, leaning one hand on the table as she took a step closer to Pansy.  She was so close that Pansy could smell the slight hint of fireball on her uniform.  She made a note to make </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>Daphne got her uniform cleaned because that wasn’t a conversation she thought the other witch wanted to have, if a teacher smelled it on her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cocky.  Not very becoming of you, Parkinson.”  Daphne mused, and Pansy shot her an annoyed look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good thing I stopped caring about that after I got disowned.”  She responded, and Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes and looked forward again, glaring down the gnome that had finally stopped trying to bite her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.”  She mumbled, and Pansy watched as she tried the incantation once again, and this time it managed to work.  She almost wished it hadn’t, after seeing the smug look on Daphne’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay fine, so you got one spell to work before I did.  Don’t go acting like that makes you-.”  Daphne grinned and leaned into her ear.  It was at that moment that Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>fully </span>
  </em>
  <span>considered murdering her.  A cell in Azkaban didn’t seem so bad.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Smarter than you?  Practically a prodigy?  Wow, Pansy, thank you so much for that glowing review.”  Daphne whispered hotly, and Pansy shoved her away and rolled her eyes as she spun her wand around in her hand.  Irritation was a wonderful motivator for her, she might as well use it to her advantage while she still could.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Piss off.”  She mumbled and Daphne leaned on her shoulder with one elbow as she continued to taunt Pansy.  Honestly, who would care if Pansy landed in Azkaban?  It could be worth it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, now.  Jealousy looks good on nobody.”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy rolled her eyes and shrugged her off, muttering the incantation, watching as it finally worked.  She looked over at Daphne with a triumphant smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>There</em>.  Now there's no reason for you to be acting like that.”  Pansy smirked, setting her wand down as Daphne examined both of their gnomes side by side and <em>tsked </em>quietly as she sat back up, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  I suppose that's acceptable but-.”  Pansy cut her off and grabbed the collar of the other girl’s sweater, pulling her close to make sure that Daphne could hear <em>every </em>word of what she was about to say.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will actually figure out how to transfigure your bones into toothpicks if you don’t shut the hell up, and you don’t want to test that theory.”  Pansy muttered, and pushed Daphne away again.  The other girl chuckled as she straightened out her sweater.  Pansy knew Daphne wouldn’t show if she’d taken that threat seriously, but she also firmly believed she wouldn’t risk calling her bluff over something so stupid.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What an… oddly specific threat.  I can appreciate the uniqueness.  Anyways, did you hear what's going on tomorrow night?”  Daphne asked, quick now to change the subject.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and shook her head.  As far as she had known there were no new plans for tomorrow, but she also hadn’t listened particularly hard to anything that had been said in the dorm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and Tracey are going to drink too much firewhiskey and turn into raging assholes?”  Pansy tried, and she could practically <em>her </em>Professor McGonagall’s annoyance at this point.  Honestly, that much irritation over one word seemed to be a little much, but who was Pansy to say?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Miss Parkinson.15 points from Slytherin.”  She said sternly and Pansy sucked in her breath.  Part of her wanted to question why Daphne had gotten less taken away for the same offense, but the other part of her knew there wasn’t really a point, what was done was done.  Daphne, apparently, did not share that same mindset.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that's not fair she only took ten away for m-.”  Pansy cleared her throat and clapped a hand over Daphne’s mouth and shot McGonagall a smile, yes it was teaming with a look of fake remorse, but it was there.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Professor.  Won’t happen again.  Anyways, you were saying?”  Pansy said, removing her hand from Daphne’s mouth before the other girl did something to try and make it move, which would inevitably be her licking Pansy’s palm, and the thought of Daphne doing that disgusted her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, first of all you were wrong about tomorrow night, what I was going to say was that Blaise and Theo are holding a party in the common room.”  Daphne explained, and Pansy’s eyebrow shot up.  It was the first she’d heard of anyone trying to host a party this year… well, she should say this <em>calendar </em>year, they did throw a party after they’d beaten Gryffindor in quidditch back in November, but Pansy had chosen not to attend, she felt it was a hollow victory to begin with, what with Potter in the infirmary before the match was even over.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  There's no reason to.”  Pansy said, and Daphne shrugged, prodding the garden gnome with the back of her wand as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The <em>reason </em>is to provide a time for us to all unwind from our first weeks back.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy wondered what colossal idiot had made the party with that reason and <em>not </em>looked at the calendar.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been back longer than a week.”  She said and Daphne shrugged and glanced up at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t blame me, Theo’s the one who told me that.”  Daphne explained and Pansy shook her head and sighed.  Daphne wasn’t seriously <em>stupid </em>enough to listen to Theo about anything of actual importance, was she?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have the ability to tell time!”  Pansy pointed out, and Daphne grinned and straightened up, clearly wanting to be an asshole, and it wasn’t exactly as if Pansy could stop anything that was going to come out of her mouth.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but I choose not to currently.  Now, do you want me to get to the point or not?”  She asked and Pansy sighed.  She didn’t exactly care, but at the same time she <em>was </em>a little curious as to why this was so important for Daphne to bring up...<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, okay…”  Pansy said and Daphne nodded curtly and leaned against the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  Then <em>be quiet.</em>  So I was thinking, this party is the best opportunity I can think of to introduce your new girlfriend to everyone, and not have people find out when you hex their tongues off for saying something rude.”  Daphne explained and while her logic did make <em>sense, </em>Pansy had serious doubt that Hermione would even want to come to something like that, she didn’t seem like the party type.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She would never go to that, she’s been tormented by Slytherin’s for years.”  She tried, wanting to give her girlfriend an out before it even came time to ask.  Daphne, however, did not seem to be easily deterred.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, she probably assumed she’d never date a Slytherin pureblood, but things clearly change.  You never know if you don’t ask.”  Daphne pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  To be fair, Hermione also hadn’t had any inkling that she liked girls before this year,  and Pansy had been repressing it, so if this year had gone any differently Pansy doubted they’d be together at all.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph I can’t ask her to-.”  Daphne held up a finger to her lips and smirked.  Oh Merlin, this is not going to end well, she had a look of solid determination that made Pansy feel very worried about what was to come..<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but I can!  Granger.  <em>Psst.</em>  Granger!”  Daphne hissed and Pansy kicked her lightly in the shin, hoping that Hermione couldn’t hear her being summoned.  This didn’t appear to do much of anything, because Daphne continued straight on.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne I swear to Merlin I’ll-.”  Pansy was unable to complete her threat before Hermione turned around, annoyance clear on her features.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, Greengrass?”  She asked, and Daphne leaned against the table again.  Pansy thought about how her wand was sitting on the other side of the table and if she’d just been smart and grabbed it, she could have cast a simple </span>
  <em>
    <span>langlock </span>
  </em>
  <span>and this all would be over by now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait up for Parkinson and I after class, we have something to talk to you about.”  She whispered, and Pansy rolled her eyes, putting her head over Daphne’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really don’t-.”  Hermione waved her off and nodded</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, alright.  Just be quiet and stop distracting people!”  She instructed, and Daphne chuckled and looked away, clearly satisfied after getting the response she wanted.  Pansy gave Hermione an apologetic look and smiled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, ‘Mione!”  Pansy said, and turned back to Daphne, who was looking at her like she’d just spoken Parseltongue or something as weird.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you honestly just apologize for talking?  That’s the least Parkinson thing I’ve <em>ever </em>seen you do.”  Daphne said, and she sounded so mystified that it was almost funny.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and walked back to her side of the table.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m turning over a new leaf-.” Pansy started, but Daphne interrupted her with a groan and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is what I was worried about, with you dating one of the golden children.”  Daphne whined and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  This should be good for a laugh if nothing else.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The hell are you on about now, Greengrass?”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne shrugged and gestured over to where Hermione was now bent over a piece of parchment, writing furiously.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to turn into someone who strictly follows and enforces the rules, and you’re going to be insufferable about it.”  Daphne theorized and Pansy really considered just hexing her, just to shut her up, nothing severe.  She wasn’t going to change completely just because of one statement she made.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m allowed to not want to get in trouble when we’ve already lost <em>45 </em>points this class between the two of us, that doesn’t mean my personality is changing.  Also, piss off about my girlfriend, she can have a different way of acting then I do.”  Pansy warned, fiddling with her wand.  Just better to have it in her hand… or worse, if she actually cast a hex at Daphne right now she was pretty sure she’d lose her house <em>all </em>of their points.  What Pansy had said didn’t seem to sway Daphne who was <em>still </em>talking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes but-.”  Pansy interrupted her with a significant look<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Now </em>Greengrass.”  Pansy said, and Daphne rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, got it.  Didn’t mean to strike a chord.”  She said, the amusement shining through her voice.  Pansy found herself imagining what Daphne might look like bald, she could cut off the girl’s hair in her sleep but… that would also require everyone else to be a heavy sleeper and about half of their dorm was not, so there goes that idea.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh you completely did, don’t deny that.”  Pansy said, narrowing her eyes.  Daphne shrugged and drummed her fingers on the table.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I seem like less of a wanker if I deny it.”  She pointed out and Pansy snickered.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since when do you care about being a wanker, isn’t that one of your signature things?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne gave her a little smirk as she responded<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I never said I <em>cared</em>, I was just attempting empathy.”  She explained and Pansy let out a full, loud laugh at that one, earning her another warning look from McGonagall.  She lowered her volume as she started to speak.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never do it again, it comes across as very unnatural.”  Pansy murmured, and Daphne’s jaw dropped as she smacked Pansy’s arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!” Daphne hissed and Pansy shrugged, rubbing her arm.  Sometimes she wondered if Daphne’s intent was to leave a permanent bruise on her arm.  Whenever Daphne smacked her it was always the same spot and <em>way </em>harder than warranted.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was giving you an honest opinion.”  Pansy said, trying to sound innocent.  Daphne huffed and poked her finger against Pansy’s sternum as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re lucky I don’t-.”  Daphne didn’t get to finish that threat, much to Pansy’s amusement, before McGonagall interrupted her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright class!  I’ll see you next week, please remember to do the reading on what happens when things become improperly transfigured, and this is a final reminder that a short 12 inch essay is due about that next class.”  McGonagall said, and everyone began to gather their things.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had completely forgotten about that essay.”  Pansy sighed as they made their way towards the door.  Daphne raised an eyebrow </span>
  <span>at her<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  Oh, me too.  I mostly just tune out what she says at this point.” Daphne said and Pansy rolled her eyes. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Daph thats-.”  She was cut off before she could say ‘stupid’<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Genius?  I know.”  Daphne said with a smirk and Pansy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose to keep from sounding like a <em>complete </em>wanker.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was going to say <em>supremely </em>idioitic, actually.”  She sighed and Daphne elbowed her ribs with a heavy glare.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanker.  Oh!  Granger.” Daphne said, waving down the Gryffindor.  Pansy had hoped that Daphne had just forgotten about talking to Hermione about it but she hadn’t.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Now what was so important that you had to flag me down during class?” Hermione asked, and Daphne smirked as she leaned against the wall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I was wondering-.”  Pansy interrupted her and cleared her throat, wanting to give Hermione an out if she needed one.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to do what she’s asking-.”  Daphne glared over at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Parkinson?  Shut up.  Since your girlfriend doesn’t have the <em>balls </em>to ask you herself, how would you feel about attending a party in the Slytherin common room tomorrow night at 8:00.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t that against the rule-.”  Daphne interrupted her and placed a hand on her shoulder.  Pansy was honestly shocked that she didn’t shake it off, like yeah Hermione and Daphne had shook hands and they were fine with each other but they weren’t friends enough for a casual touch from what she’d seen.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The whole party is <em>technically </em>against the rules, who cares if we break one more.”  Daphne pointed out and Hermione thought for a moment.  Pansy really thought that she was going to say no, it would make sense, but she was surprised to see Hermione nod before talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... You know what?  Yeah, fine.  I’ll be there.”  Hermione said, and Pansy covered her face with her hands.  This wasn’t going to end well, it was either going to end with someone losing their tongue or Hermione punching Draco in the face <em>again </em>like she had 3rd year.  Although Draco was being better about things, so maybe it would be Crabbe or Goyle, she wouldn’t mind that too much.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome, Parkinson will meet you outside the common room at 7:55, dress casual but presentable, not like your <em>normal </em>attire-.” Pansy smacked the back of her head and clenched her jaw.  Or she’d end up hexing someone <em>before </em>the party even happened.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Greengrass.  Thin ice.”  Pansy warned, gripping the end of her wand a little tighter.  Daphne sighed and nodded, glancing over at Pansy with some annoyance.  Pansy thought that was uncalled for, of course she wasn’t about to let her girlfriend get insulted, that would be absurd.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, as I was saying… you know what, I can just loan you something.  Where can I find you at… 6:30 tonight?”  Daphne asked and Hermione raised an eyebrow, like it should’ve been obvious.  The only person it would’ve been obvious to was Pansy, so she couldn’t really fault Daphne for not knowing.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Library.  With Pansy.  Studying.  We do that almost every day, how do you not know that yet?”  She asked and Pansy wanted to laugh because maybe <em>Hermione’s </em>friends needed to be tracked everywhere they went, but Pansy was self sufficient enough that that wasn’t the case.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not my friend’s keeper.  I’ll bring it by you there.  And Granger?”  Daphne said, causing Hermione to look her in the eyes.  Pansy hoped to Merlin that Daphne said something that <em>wasn't </em>going to be taken as insulting.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  She asked, and Daphne smirked.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be afraid, the boys can smell weakness.”  Daphne said, and Pansy smacked the back of her head, leveling a quick glare her way.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, wanker!  She’s just being an ass, sorry ‘Mione.”  Pansy said quickly and Hermione chuckled and shook her head.  Pansy then realized she really didn’t have to say that, of course someone as smart as Hermione could pick up on something as simple as sarcasm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's okay.  See you at 6?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  In some part of her brain, she knew there was an internal question about why she’d let one girl change her nightly routine so drastically, she used to just do her homework in her dorm and only go to the library when the other girls wouldn’t shut up, but the conscious, logical part of her brain knew it was because she was <em>Hermione </em>and there wasn’t an explanation past that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’m making you start that Transfiguration essay tonight.”  Hermione said, shaking Pansy  from her thoughts.  Pansy’s mouth dropped open and she felt a little annoyed.  She had at least three days to start and finish that essay.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She tried protesting, but Hermione put up a hand to silence her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No complaining!  I’m helping you by making you start early, you already know that!”  Hermione explained and Pansy sighed and hung her head for a moment, knowing that trying to fight her on this was a useless battle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“.... Fine.”  She muttered, and Hermione smiled and pushed up on her toes, kissing Pansy quickly before walking off in the opposite direction.  Pansy barely had to time to process that Hermione had just kissed her <em>in the hallway </em>at school in front of plenty of </span>
  <span>people before she heard Daphne chuckle<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, that’s why I could never do that.”  Daphne said, and Pansy sighed and looked over at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked, and Daphne gestured vaguely in the direction that Hermione had taken off in.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dating someone so <em>focused </em>and driven in school.  Blaise-.”  Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes, not letting Daphne finish her sentence.  It was too ridiculous to even listen to.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is not your boyfriend.  He takes you out a couple of times a year and then leaves you the second he gets interest from some other girl, he’s done the same thing since fourth year.”  Pansy said, and Daphne opened her mouth to respond, and closed it just as quick, clearly a little bit annoyed by Pansy’s quick observation.  It wasn’t as though Pansy had lied, she knew for a fact that Blaise treated Daphne like shit all the time and Daphne just never seemed to notice.  But she also knew that Daphne hated being called on it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  You know, sometimes I regret befriending you.”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy sighed and patted her shoulder.  She <em>had </em>gone a little low on that one, but she also wasn’t wrong and Daphne needed to hear it any chance she got.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never really had a choice, I was there either way.” Pansy pointed out, and she was right about that, Daphne never really had the ability to not at least <em>talk </em>to Pansy, they’d been in the same dorm since first year.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair.  You’re still a wanker.”  Daphne said and Pansy smirked and patted her arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I learned <em>that </em>from the best.”  She said with a wink and Daphne glared at her<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OI!”  She snapped, and Pansy let out a laugh as she walked away down the hall.  It wasn’t like she had <em>insulted </em>Daphne, she’d just stated a fact.</span>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, stop staring at me.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy felt her face get hot as she looked away from her girlfriend.  She shouldn’t feel embarrassed about staring at Hermione, after all she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>allowed to without it being weird now, she just hated that she’d been caught.  It felt like she was doing something wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t!”  She insisted, and Hermione smirked and set down her quill, folding her fingers together so she could rest her chin on her hands.  Pansy thought she looked quite pretty like that, then again she was hard pressed to find a time she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>pretty.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really, then in that case... what have you gotten done on that Transfiguration essay?”  Hermione asked, her voice coming out a little too triumphant and sure for someone who didn’t know the answer to that yet, at least in Pansy’s opinion.  Pansy looked down at the parchment which was empty save for her name and swallowed heavily.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Plenty.”  Pansy lied, and Hermione seemed to know she was lying because she sighed and held out her hand to the other witch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me see.” She said, not sounding convinced.   Pansy crossed her arms and looked away again. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  My work of genius is private, how do I know I can trust you?”  She asked, and Hermione let out a small laugh as she reached across the table.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>already finished mine.  Hand it over.”  Hermione tried again, and Pansy thought for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No.”  She said and Hermione put her head in her hands and groaned before looking back across the table at Pansy.  Maybe she should feel bad, making her girlfriend so frustrated,  but it wasn’t in her nature to </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>be a good person, sometimes it was fun to be like this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy I can <em>see </em>the parchment, you’ve got damn near nothing written down.”  Hermione said, and Pansy shrugged.  She wasn’t going to let Hermione win this argument with ease, and she still technically had it that it <em>could </em>go in her favor.<br/>“I’m thinking!  You can’t rush perfection!”  Pansy said, and Hermione closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but I <em>can </em>insist that you work.”  Hermione instructed and Pansy sighed and leaned her elbows on the table.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?  And what's in it for me?”  Pansy asked with a smirk.  The other witch sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A good grade and <em>not </em>having detention with McGonagall.”  Hermione tried, and Pansy shook her head.  Like she was <em>afraid </em>of detention with McGonagall, what's the worst that could happen?  She’d been sent to the Forbidden Forest before when she’d had detention and it wasn’t even that bad, any punishment they gave her wasn’t really going to persuade her to not do what she wanted to do.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t sound very persuasive.  And here I thought you were the brightest witch of your-.”  Hermione rolled her eyes and reached over, pulling Pansy up and over the table a bit by her tie, kissing her soundly.  Pansy knew it was mostly to shut her up, but in that moment she didn’t exactly care because kissing Hermione was like getting hit with a fresh wave of amortentia every time.  Not that she’d ever actually <em>drink </em>it, that would be foolish.  Pansy brought one of her hands down to the table to steady her and put the other one softly on Hermione’s neck, her thumb coming to rest on the other girl’s jaw.  They didn’t remain like this long (they wouldn’t have either way) before hearing Madam clear her throat loud enough that they separated, Hermione quickly shoving her back into her seat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Ahem!</em>  Do I have to dock house points, ladies?”  The librarian asked, and Pansy could practically feel the embarrassment rolling off of Hermione, but she couldn’t find it in herself to feel that way, she honestly didn’t see why it mattered, and found it odd that she’d seen couples kissing in here all the time and Madam Pince didn’t bat an eye, but Merlin forbid if it were two girls.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, sorry.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy didn’t say anything, she simply shrugged at Pince’s warning look.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm… Worth it.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione gave her a look, but Pansy was able to see the other witch’s mouth threatening to tug up into a little bit of a smile.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, now get to work.”  Hermione whispered, and Pansy sighed, leaning forward on her elbows as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I <em>suppose </em>I can get some of it done now, I mean who am I to deny such a kind request and <em>ow</em>.”  Pansy winced as someone smacked her upside the head.  She looked up to see Daphne smirking down at her with something draped over her arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, you were irritating me from across the room.  Granger, here's the clothes.” She said, handing them across the table.  The second Hermione saw them, Pansy saw how mortified she looked.  She held the short skirt and tank top at an arm's length, like she thought that if she touched it too much her hands would light on fire.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  No way.  I would rather be burned alive in Dante’s 7th layer of <em>hell </em>then wear these in public and humiliate myself.”  Hermione hissed, but Pansy was currently occupied by thinking about <em>how </em>Hermione would look in those clothes… not exactly the best thought process when she was supposed to be finishing an essay.  She heard Daphne snort as she dropped down into the chair beside Pansy, giving Hermione a look that Pansy knew meant Daphne was challenging something.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Humiliate?  That’s an odd way to say ‘look hot’.  Also an odd way to say thank you.  Also an odd way of speaking, who the hell is Dante and I thought muggle hell was just one place?”  Daphne asked, and Hermione sighed, rubbing her temples.  Pansy would have offered her some comfort, but that last comment Daphne made had her thinking too… from what she’d heard it was only one place…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Greengrass-.”  Hermione started, but Daphne held up a hand to silence her as she kicked her feet up on the table, obviously ignoring the look she got from Madam Pince.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Look, I wouldn’t give you something that I didn’t think you’d honestly look good in.  You and I have our differences but I technically invited you -even if it was because Parkinson was too chickenshit- and I don’t exactly want </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>reputation ruined by you turning up in something that looks like it could be worn by a geriatric librarian.  No offense Madam Pince!”  Daphne said, sending a glance at the librarian who was too engrossed in her conversation with some first year to even notice what had been said about her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re damn lucky she didn’t hear you, mate.”  Pansy muttered and Daphne shrugged with a smirk.  Mostly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span> was glad that Madam Pince hadn’t heard her because she would’ve used that opportunity to dock house points from all three of them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also I do not dress like that!”  Hermione snapped quietly , and Daphne smirked and rolled her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Debatable, Granger.  Just wear the clothes and trust me on this.  I’ll see you in the dorms, Pans.”  Daphne said, kicking her legs back down and standing up.  The second she was gone, Hermione set the garment down and looked at with a heavy amount of skepticism.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know…”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed.  She could vouch for Daphne’s fashion sense, even if she couldn’t vouch for her reasoning in a way that Hermione would </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely </span>
  </em>
  <span>be able to relate too.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, Daphne’s a lot of things, but she’s not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>complete </span>
  </em>
  <span>asshole.  And she doesn’t fuck around when it comes to clothes, believe me.  She helped me decide on the outfit I wore on our first date.”  Pansy tried, and Hermione smiled and nodded at this, like it was enough to </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost </span>
  </em>
  <span>convince her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>look gorgeous.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy tried not to pay attention to how hot her face felt when Hermione said </span>
  <span>that.  She instead reached across the table to take one of Hermione’s hands in hers, making the other girl look at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you always do, these clothes will just give you the extra edge to shut up anyone who thinks they can have ammunition against you.”  Pansy explained and Hermione looked a little confused at this.  Pansy then remembered that muggleborns didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>the same societal standards and odd teachings as purebloods.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How so?”  She asked, and Pansy sighed.  How does she explain it in a way that doesn’t sound elitist?  She couldn’t, by all proper means it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>elitist, but it was who they were.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dress a bit like you belong, you’ll fly under the radar.  Yes, it's shitty that you have to but believe me, you’d prefer that to them tearing you apart for dressing badly -in their opinion-.”  Pansy was careful to add that last part because the last thing she needed was Hermione mad at her when it wasn’t even a comment on what the other witch wore, just a comment on the judgement process.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… well.  I’ll wear them… if you actually work on that essay.” Hermione said, and Pansy grinned and picked up her quill.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Your wish is my command, darling.”  Pansy said, and she caught the face that Hermione made as the other witch shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, never say that again.  It feels… wrong.”  She said and Pansy shrugged as she bent back over her parchment.  If she was going to finish her essay, or even start it, she needed to actually focus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.”  Pansy muttered, and started to work.  She knew it honestly wouldn’t take that long to finish, she just didn’t want to do it. And in some small part of her brain she was kicking herself because Hermione had </span>
  <em>
    <span>won</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Of course she had.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Homophobia</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pansy had learned her lesson on their last date:  Always make an attempt to be at least five minutes early, because Hermione would probably already be waiting.  That’s exactly what she did today, but to her surprise the hallway was empty.  For a moment she got a little worried before remembering that Hermione </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>still have time to show up, it wasn’t the time they’d agreed on yet.  But after another seven minutes passed, Pansy started getting a little suspicious, and walked over to the stairs leading up to the rest of the castle, only to find Hermione standing there, looking like she’d been petrified.  Honestly, she looked terrified which was odd because Pansy had gone most of the time knowing her thinking she didn’t get scared easily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione?  You okay?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione looked at her and shook her head, running a hand through her hair.  Though it wasn’t the point, Pansy couldn’t help but notice how </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermione looked in the clothes Daphne had lent her, it looked like they were made for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t.  I cannot go down there, someone will </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>try to murder me, your house hates muggleborns!”  Hermione hissed urgently and Pansy sighed and rubbed her chin for a moment, trying to think of a way to make Hermione comfortable with actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>going </span>
  </em>
  <span>to this party.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Can I come up there next to you?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione took a deep breath and nodded.  Pansy could tell she was a bit at the point of feeling like she was caged in and couldn’t get out, she’d been there before.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I suppose.”  She finally said, and Pansy let out a little breath of relief and climbed up the stairs, sitting one step down from where Hermione was frozen.  She looked up at her and sighed.  She couldn't exactly help if Hermione wouldn't give just a <em>tiny </em>bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sit down.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione looked apprehensive, as if she was worried that if she sat down something would happen to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked cautiously and Pansy rubbed her temples and sighed, not wanting to snap at her or have Hermione thinking that she was angry because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>angry right now.  She just wanted to help and didn’t quite know how.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because we’re going to talk this out, so come here.”  Pansy said, patting the ground next to her softly.  Hermione sighed and finally relaxed a little bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Okay.”  She said, dropping down next to Pansy, who reached over and rubbed her upper back gently as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, first of all.  If anyone says anything like that I don’t mind putting them back in their place-.”  Hermione cut her off with a look of alarm as she shifted to better make eye contact with Pansy.  Pansy did find it a little funny that that was the first place Hermione's brain went.  Not detention, not a lecture but <em>expulsion</em>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you could get expelled-.”  Hermione started, but Pansy held up a hand to silence her.  That was only if she went to any sort of </span>
  <em>
    <span>extreme</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, I wouldn’t, two, that's only if I kill them.”  Pansy said, her voice a little causal for what she had just said, and she knew that.  Hermione put her hand on top of Pansy’s and gave her an incredibly serious look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's not even on the table.”  Hermione instructed, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Did Hermione not realize the kind of people that were in Pansy’s house?  Like yeah, there were plenty of nice people, but there were also </span>
  <em>
    <span>plenty </span>
  </em>
  <span>of assholes who deserved a kick to the head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I don’t know, some of them are major assholes…  It could help them.”  Pansy said, </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>joking around, but Hermione didn’t pick up on that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, her voice having an obvious instruction in it to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>do that.  Pansy had heard that tone, mostly on kids who were out past curfew when they were on their patrols, and now she realized just how effective it is.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said I wasn’t going to do it!”  Pansy insisted and Hermione rolled her eyes and rested her head in her hands for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you specifically said ‘That's only if I kill them.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Never </span>
  </em>
  <span>did you say you weren’t going to!”  She pointed out once she had lifted her head from the moment she had apparently needed to handle how Pansy was.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well what can I say, I enjoy keeping my options wide open.” Pansy mused, and Hermione gently smacked her upside the head.  Pansy guessed she’d earned that one, she wasn’t going to fault Hermione.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Murder is <em>not </em>an option.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy smirked, leaning a little closer to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Technically-.”  She started and Hermione sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, giving her a withering look.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  She warned, and Pansy shook her head and sighed, bringing Hermione’s hand up to her lips and pressing a gentle kiss there before letting it go.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, not the point.  The point is… if anything happens, I’m there and I’ve got your back… plus I never go to these until now because… actually never mind.”  Pansy said quickly, not quite ready to admit just how much she <em>liked </em>having Hermione around.  Basically she’d already done that, but it still was a little difficult for her to be that vulnerable more than a couple of times.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because why?” Hermione prompted and Pansy shook her head and let out a heavy sigh.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re gonna think its stupid.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione chuckled and rested her hand on Pansy’s thigh, prompting her to look back into her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try me, I doubt it will be the stupidest thing I've heard even <em>today</em>.  I mean, you've met my best friends.”  Hermione joked, taking Pansy’s hand in hers.  She could appreciate that Hermione had used Pansy's sense of humor to get through to her, but she was still apprehensive.  Pansy sighed and looked down at the step in front of her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I’ve never had a good reason.”  Pansy mumbled, and she didn’t miss the way that Hermione’s eyes softened and her lips tugged up into the whisper of a smile at that.  She ran her thumb over the top of Pansy’s hand as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’m a good reason?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed and looked away, not feeling like she was going to be able to say what she was thinking if she looked at Hermione while she admitted what she had to say.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… yeah.  I get the chance to get ahead of everyone making up rumors, and I can spend some real time with you.”  Pansy said, her face getting hot as she said it.  There was an uncomfortably long silence to follow that, and Pansy knew Hermione was thinking, weighing the pros and cons she had on hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… but I reserve the right to leave at any time.”  Hermione leveled, and Pansy nodded.  That seemed like a logical compromise.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair.  Plus I’m pretty sure you can outrun me, I couldn’t stop you if I tried.”  Pansy joked, and Hermione elbowed her in the ribs before standing up and offering her hand again, which Pansy took and they walked down the hallway to the party.  Pansy quietly muttered the passcode and led Hermione into the common room, and was greeted by Daphne and Tracey almost immediately. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson!  Granger!  You made it!”  Daphne said, an uncharacteristically large smile on her face.  If Pansy was suspicious of it when she walked in the room, her theory was only confirmed when Daphne hugged her, and then Hermione, who went as rigid as stone.  Daphne Greengrass was <em>drunk</em>.  Pansy found this quite funny because while Daphne drank plenty, she was always quite careful not to get drunk, and now Pansy knew why.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph, you <em>literally </em>knew I was waiting for her, why are you being weird?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne thought for a moment and nodded, steadying herself on Pansy’s shoulder while she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, sorry.  I’ve had a bit to drink just to… loosen me up.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy covered her face with her hand and sighed.  This was going to be an interesting night, that was for certain.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin</em>, like you need any more of a reason to say <em>exactly </em>what's on your mind.”  Pansy groaned, and Daphne glared at her and smacked her arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For your information-.”  She started, but was cut off by the sounds of murmuring and then a slight commotion.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!  What the hell is <em>she </em>doing here?”  Crabbe sneered and Daphne stepped aside, leveling a glare at Crabbe.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I-.”  Pansy started, but Daphne held a hand up to silence her and walked right up to Crabbe, almost daring him to say something more.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I <em>invited </em>her.  Got an issue with that?”  Daphne asked, her voice coming out surprisingly level for someone who was just so clearly drunk.  Crabbe scoffed and nodded, crossing his arms as he spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think I do.  Some fucking mudblood Gryffindor-.”  He snarled and Pansy felt her anger level rise<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!  <em>Don’t </em>call her that, you piece of shit!”  She snapped and Crabbe raised an eyebrow at her and shifted so he was facing her.  As if Pansy was going to be afraid of someone who felt the need to always exist second to Draco Malfoy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?  And why not?  It’s who she is.”  Crabbe said, and Pansy gripped her wand tightly, leveling the pros and cons of hexing him right now.  Before she could though, Draco cleared his throat and took a step forward, placing a heavy hand on Crabbe’s shoulder.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mate, I’d lay off if I were you.”  Draco warned, his jaw set and eyes blazing a bit.  But Crabbe wasn’t looking at him, so he had obviously just assumed that Draco was warning him because he was <em>worried</em> about what would happen to Crabbe, not because he was willing to hex Crabbe himself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not scared of Parkinson and her fucking guard dog.”  Crabbe snarled back and Daphne sighed and took another sip of her drink before speaking.  Pansy wondered what else had been said while she was gone that made Daphne so ready to say something, normally it might take one or two, even three times of things being said for <em>either </em>of them to speak up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Piss off, Crabbe.  She’s my <em>friend </em>not my fucking ward.”  Daphne sighed and Hermione fidgeted with the hem of her skirt with her free hand, and Pansy could practically <em>feel</em> the anxiety rolling off the other girl.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is exactly why I didn’t want to come.”  Hermione muttered and Pansy flashed her a smile, a bit forced because she was still imagining how <em>nice </em>it might feel to watch Crabbe walk away with a broken nose and less of an ego.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense, darling.  Vincent is just being an idiot, it comes to him pretty naturally.  Do you want a drink?”  Pansy asked, leading her over with Daphne and Tracey to the empty chairs in the corner, where she was fairly certain no one was going to go <em>just </em>to bother her.  Hermione blinked in surprise, obviously a little shocked that Pansy could go from blazing angry to worryingly calm in a heartbeat.  She’d learned it from her father very early on in life.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… sure.  Just surprise me.”  Hermione said, and Pansy grinned and bent down a bit, pressing a light, quick kiss on Hermione’s cheek.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That I can do.  Daph?  Tracey? Would you-.”  Pansy didn’t even have to finish her sentence before Daphne threw an arm around Hermione’s shoulder, startling her a little bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>We’ll keep an eye on her.”  She insisted, and Pansy nodded curtly, satisfied with that.  Daphne was clearly the level of drunk that she wasn’t afraid to stand up to someone if need be, and Tracey was the level of sober where she could easily pull Daphne <em>back </em>if need be.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”  Pansy said, and walked off to get the drinks.  She was just about done pouring out the two firewhiskey when she could practically <em>feel </em>someone looking at her, but she did her best to ignore it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you actually brought her.”  And yet she was still startled enough that she jumped when Millicent talked.  She turned around and sighed, balancing both glasses in her hands.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin</em>, Millie!  Wear a bell.  And yeah, I did because she makes me <em>happy</em>.  Why, have you got some kind of problem with it?”  Pansy asked, narrowing her eyes.  Millcent rolled her eyes and sighed, clearly not here for <em>that </em>reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Bloody hell, Parkinson, I’m not a homophobe.  I was going to say it’s cool to watch you do something like that, bring your girlfriend in here… it takes balls.”  Millicent said, clearly a little bit impressed.  Pansy couldn’t help but smile, just a little bit, at this because so far, other than the two who for sure knew and Draco, she’d been met with so much animosity that she just didn’t want to deal with.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah well… she’s terrified that someone’s gonna hex her or something.”  Pansy admitted and Millicent ran a hand through her hair before speaking, clearly not as stressed about it as Pansy was.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s got nothing to worry about, everyone from <em>our </em>dorm room at least, we’ve got your back.”  Millicent insisted, and Pansy smirked at that.  It <em>was </em>awfully nice of her to say that, especially since she and Pansy didn’t talk a crazy amount, enough that they were friends but not enough to be close.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Mill.  I should be getting back.”  Pansy said, tilting her head to the side to signal where Daphne, Tracey, and Hermione were.  Millicent glanced over her shoulder and chuckled, shaking her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking hell.  Yeah, you should, before Daphne takes someone’s eye out.”  Millicent said, clearly finding whatever was happening being Pansy to be very amusing.  Pansy turned around and groaned upon seeing Daphne screaming at someone.  This should be fun to have to handle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-AND ANOTHER THING!  WHAT MAKES <em>YOU </em>SO HIGH AND MIGHTY?  IT’S JUST BLOOD YOU STUPID FUCKING CUNT!  IT’S NOT LIKE ANYONE IN THIS ROOM HAD A SAY OVER WHO THEIR PARENTS WERE AND-.”  Pansy cleared her throat and put a hand on Daphne’s shoulder, moving her away from where she was screaming at some fourth year boy who had made the unfortunate mistake of saying… something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Daph. Maybe you should sit down for a minute.  ‘Mione?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione looked up at her and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  She asked, and Pansy held up the drink for her to see.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got your drink.”  Pansy said, passing the firewhiskey down to her.  Hermione raised an eyebrow, but took it and took a long sip, wincing when she swallowed.  Pansy could guess she didn’t drink it much, but it was the easiest thing to grab when she was over there.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… thanks.  I have a question because it's just… I honestly want to know.”  Hermione said, and Pansy chuckled.  It would always fascinate Pansy, how Hermione had to eloquently say damn near everything.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…”  Pansy said, and Hermione took a deep breath, clearly trying to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to ask.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How the <em>hell </em>do you guys get so much firewhiskey down here?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy had to laugh.  Yes, firewhiskey wasn’t allowed on school grounds but it was pretty clear how the Slytherins got it in here, it was just probably the sheer <em>volume </em>that they had managed to rack up so far.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sneak it in.”  She said, and Hermione sighed and shook her head.  Pansy obviously knew she hadn’t meant that, every house snuck in firewhiskey.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but-.”  Pansy sighed and shrugged.  She wasn’t one who often brought it onto the grounds, she left that to the ones who were more inconspicuous.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you can hide it well enough, no one’s really gonna care.  Hell, Theo snuck in 3 or 4 bottles during the holiday, no one batted an eye.”  Pansy explained and Hermione frowned slightly, probably thinking of the logistics, Pansy reasoned.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay that makes sense, but-.”  Pansy cut her off with a shake of her head.  She literally didn’t know <em>anything </em>else about that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t question it too much, darling.  I don’t have a full straight answer.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione sighed and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s fair.  Hey.”  Hermione said, looking up at her.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked and Hermione gestured for her to come closer.  There was literally no space to <em>be </em>closer.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here.”  Hermione said and Pansy was confused by that because they were less than a foot away from each other.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m right her-oh!  Hi.”  Pansy squeaked out, a little embarrassed that her voice went that high but it was to be expected when Hermione grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto her lap.  The other witch rested her head on Pansy’s chest, right by the base of her neck and smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  You smell <em>really </em>good tonight.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy chuckled at this because that seemed to be one of Hermione’s favorite things about her.  It was probably a definite plus, she did her best to not go anywhere smelling <em>bad</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that's the fourth time you’ve said that to me… not tonight but like…”  Pansy chuckled and Hermione shrugged, glancing up at her as she traced the length of Pansy’s spine lightly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it's true.  What did you smell in your amortentia?”  Hermione asked suddenly and Pansy’s eyes widened in surprise.  They’d gone so long just ignoring that that she thought she was maybe in the clear.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked, feeling like her heart had stopped in her chest.  She sincerely had hoped that Hermione had forgotten that she hadn’t said anything.  That <em>neither </em>of them had said anything that day.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never <em>actually </em>told me what you smelled…”  Hermione said, trailing off.  It terrified her, the thought of sharing that with Hermione.  She was not ready for that level of vulnerability, at least she wasn’t ready to be the first one of the two to admit it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you never told me.”  Pansy said, trying to shift the focus off of her.  Hermione chuckled and lifted her head up, raising an eyebrow.  Pansy thought she <em>had </em>to know that she was deflecting, but she did take the bait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I thought it was at least a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>obvious by now…” Hermione said, a small smirk on her face.  Pansy shrugged and looked down at her hands.  She would use any excuse she needed to buy her a little more time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Humor me.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione sighed and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I smelt some sort of lavender-floralish perfume, and then two things I couldn’t quite make out but the second you leaned closer to me that day I remembered where I’d smelt them before… The first one I know is just you, the inherent way you smell, it's really nice.  I was able to narrow the other one down to some sort of alcohol, but after spending more time around you I realized it was the smell of firewhiskey…”  Hermione trailed off, looking back at Pansy.  She was a little shocked, like obviously she’d known it was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>possibility </span>
  </em>
  <span>and it explained why Hermione was so freaked out that day but… still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you smelled me?”  Pansy asked quietly and Hermione nodded and let out a little laugh as she sat up just a bit, resting her head again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that shocking to you?  I knew from the second that I smelt the perfume that it wasn’t Ron, or any of my close friends at the time… and I knew everything in it was familiar?  I don’t know.  Now.  I literally asked first so you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to tell me.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair.  It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>fair for her to let Hermione know too, it might be rude to just leave it at that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, I guess what’s fair is fair.  Cinnamon, something floral, old books, tea, ink and something sweet. So in short… you.  I knew immediately that I smelt you but I didn’t want to be weird or anything so that's why I said I didn’t recognize it.” Pansy said in a rushed voice, and for a long moment, Hermione was quiet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I guess your outburst at Ron and I in the hallway made a lot more sense then I originally thought.”  Hermione finally mumbled and Pansy sighed and hung her head for a moment.  That was for sure a dark day in her recent history, and majorly embarrassing on her part.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, that was so embarrassing, I literally cannot believe I did that.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione laughed, her head still resting on Pansy’s chest</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can.”  Hermione said, and Pansy lifted herself up a little bit so that she could better look at Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that supposed to mean?”  She asked, and Hermione looked into her eyes and thought for just a moment before answering.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re… passionate.”  Hermione said carefully and Pansy chuckled, tracing light patterns up and down Hermione’s arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that just a polite way of saying I’m loud and mean?”  She asked and Hermione chuckled, which was simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>helpful in having Pansy figure out if she was supposed to be offended or not.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Sometimes, but it's not a bad thing.  People need that person who isn’t afraid to say ‘fuck it’ and say exactly what they mean, no matter how many people will hate them for it.  See, a lot of people don’t care if someone doesn’t agree, but it takes a special kind of person to not care how people feel after you say what you were meant to say.”  Hermione explained and Pansy frowned, still not knowing how to take that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t really <em>seem </em>like a compliment but-.”  Hermione chuckled and reached up, pulling Pansy down by the back of her neck and kissing her rather passionately for someone who had just a couple of moments was terrified of being here.  But then Pansy remembered that some people felt <em>extra </em>courage after drinking the firewhiskey.  She’d never really gotten that part of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”  Hermione said when they separated, just for a moment to breathe before she pulled Pansy back down against her lips.  She could see why they didn’t do this often,  Pansy knew that if they did she’d never get anything done, this would be all she could think about:  Hermione’s lips, her tongue, the way she almost laughed against Pansy’s mouth, the way everything she did felt electric.  It would be enough to drive someone mad if it didn’t come in moderation.  She trailed her fingers up and down Hermione’s arms as she felt Hermione tighten her grip a bit on her waist.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, isn’t that just <em>sickening</em>.”  Goyle sneered, and Pansy reluctantly broke away from Hermione to send a withering glare up at Goyle, who was looming over them.  Merlin, what a wanker.<br/>“Excuse me, Gregory.  Do you have a <em>problem </em>with me kissing my girlfriend?”  Pansy asked, trying to keep a level head.  Very difficult to do when Goyle’s face is all but begging to be caved in.  The boy sneered and bent down so he was at eye level with Pansy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  I do.  No one should be subjected to that, it's disgusting.  You’re lucky no one below 4th year was allowed to come to this.  Children shouldn’t have to see… all that.”  Goyle said, making a vague hand gesture at them when he said ‘all that’  Pansy had to chuckle because at a school where you were forced to see what you were most afraid of and where people have <em>died</em>, Goyle really thought this was the worst thing kids were going to see.  Pathetic.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We kissed <em>once</em>.  Going here, they’ll see far worse.”  Pansy snorted, and Goyle shrugged and shook his head.  Merlin, he actually believed what he was saying.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doubt it.”  He sighed and Pansy went to speak again, but was interrupted by a wry chuckle behind her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shove off, Goyle.  Just because you can’t get a girl doesn’t mean you have to harass Pansy for finding one who likes her.”  Tracey said, and Pansy watched as Goyle’s entire face turned so red it was almost purple.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just telling her the truth.  It’s unnatural and disgusting and it’s no wonder her parents disowned her.  The wonder is how <em>long </em>it took them.”  Goyle sneered, and this was enough to make Hermione tense enough that Pansy could feel it, and when she looked down she saw the fire in Hermione's eyes, it was the same look she'd had in third year when she'd decked Draco.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen here you-.”  Hermione started, but Pansy squeezed her hand to silence her.  She didn’t want anyone to think they had free reign to hex her girlfriend, and if she’d finished that sentence she would’ve effectively called open season on herself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not worth it, ‘Mione, seriously.  Let's just… we can sit in my room and talk.”  Pansy insisted, standing up and holding out her hand to Hermione, who looked hesitant for a moment before taking it and standing, but not moving.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want people thinking we’re-.”  She seemed to pause on that word, like she was unsure how to finish her sentence.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking?”  Pansy offered, and Hermione’s eyes widened as she looked away from Pansy, clearly <em>very </em>surprised that Pansy would so willingly say that.  She had been looking for proper clarification and it was a descriptive word to explain the action, it's not like she was breaking any rules by saying it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a very <em>forward </em>way to put it, but yes.”  Hermione said and Pansy shrugged.  Forward tended to be her forte, many said that she lacked needed subtlety.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, okay that's fair.  Tracey?  Daph?  Are you two willing to come to the dorm with us?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey’s head snapped up as she got onto her feet and pulled Daphne up with her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And get you away from that frogfucker?  Hell yeah.”  She said, and they turned to walk away and heard Goyle chuckle.  Of course <em>now </em>he decided the conversation wasn’t over.  It wouldn’t be over until he thought he’d ‘won’ and Pansy knew that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah just walk away.  Wow, Granger too?  Backing down so easily?  Some Gryffindor you’ve got there, Parkinson.  You really hit the jackpot.”  Goyle said, his voice mocking.  Pansy tensed and went to turn around, but she felt Hermione squeeze down on her hand and <em>both </em>Tracey and Daphne put their hands on her shoulders to stop her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, just ignore him.”  Daphne said, but her voice was sounding just as irritated as Pansy felt, and when she glanced at Tracey she knew that the other girl was also plotting exactly how to ruin the boy.  But Pansy knew it wasn’t worth getting at least a month of detention so she turned around intent on just going into her room, but Goyle just wouldn’t shut up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean <em>seriously, </em>how’d you manage to hit the trifecta?  Mudblood, dyke, <em>and </em>a Gryffindor?  Pathetic.”  Goyle sneered, and suddenly everything else fell away, she could hardly hear Hermione telling her it didn’t matter over the sound of the blood pounding in her ears.  Pansy spun around on her heel and punched Goyle without a second thought, square in the nose and hard enough that he fell back on the floor.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s <em>that </em>for pathetic?”  Pansy snarled.  She ignored the pain radiating through her hand as she glared down at the boy who touched under his nose and brought his hand away in shock at the sight of his own blood.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You… you hit me.”  He said quietly, like it was something unbelievable.  No, what was unbelievable was that Pansy had decided to take so long to do it.  She should’ve knocked him on his ass <em>ages </em>ago for the shit he did this year.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and I’d do it again.”  Pansy snapped, shaking out her hand a bit and wincing at the pain that was now radiating up and down her arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You fucking <em>bitch</em>.”  Goyle snarled, and he lunged at her.  Pansy closed her eyes, accepting that she might get the fucking shit beat out of her for hitting first, but surprisingly, no hit ever came.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  Leave them alone!”  Pansy heard a more unknown voice call out, and if she’d had her eyes closed she could've sworn it was a younger Daphne speaking.  But when she looked in front of her she saw a short girl, younger then she was, standing confidently.  Astoria Greengrass, of course.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Astoria, you should be resting-.”  Daphne tried, putting a gentle hand on her sister’s shoulder.  Pansy had observed that she was always sweeter, more gentle, when she was around her sister.  Astoria shook her sister’s hand off and glared back at her for a moment before training her eyes back up on Goyle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>No </em>Daphne, I can stand up for them just as much as you can and I will.”  Astoria said firmly, and Pansy had to admit she was a little impressed with how firmly the girl was standing her ground.  She was pretty damn unshakeable.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think I’m scared of some little girl?”  Goyle chuckled, and before he could say more another figure appeared next to Astoria.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reckon you should be, mate.  Because if you have another go at Pansy, it won’t just be that girl you’re facing.”  Draco warned and Goyle’s face fell, all the cockiness left his body in that one singular moment when he realized for sure that Draco was not on his side.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Draco you don’t mean-.” Draco took a step forward and raised his wand to right under Goyle’s chin, the determination clear on his face.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking. <em>Try me</em>.”  Draco said, his teeth clenched.  Pansy remembered now <em>why </em>she’d first thought she was into Draco:  It was that old sense of confidence he had when he was younger, that he <em>was </em>the strongest one in the room.  Eventually though, that had given way to cockiness which had landed him where he was now, a pawn of his father’s because he got cocky enough to think he was an equal.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, heads up!”  Pansy was able to turn just in time to see something flying at her face, and she caught it.  When the hell had she even set this down?  Probably when she was getting the drinks, but she couldn’t quite remember.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit my wand… Thanks, Nott.”  She called over, and the boy gave her a nod of recognition.  She looked up just in time to see Goyle huff and stand down.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got <em>lucky</em>, Parkinson.  Just wait until I get you without your little <em>friends </em>around.”  He spat, and stomped back into the party.  Draco turned around and, much to Pansy’s shock, pulled her into a quick, tight hug before putting his hand on either one of her shoulders and examining her face.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… you okay?”  He asked softly, and she shrugged.  She really didn’t know if she was okay right now, but she wasn’t going to let that affect her too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will be… and I could’ve handled it.”  Pansy mumbled and Draco laughed and nodded, dropping his hands off of Pansy’s shoulders.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t doubt that.  But your way of ‘handling it’ could’ve landed you in the headmasters office.  Didn’t know you could punch like that.”  He said, sounding a little bit impressed.  Pansy shrugged, she hadn’t really expected that punching Goyle would <em>drop </em>him, but she knew that she knew how to hit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither did I.”  Pansy admitted.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly thought the one to be afraid of in your <em>relationship </em>was Granger.  Merlin knows she can hit.”  Draco joked, casting a glance at Hermione, who pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Malfoy that was years-.”  Hermione started but Draco chuckled and held his hand up, shaking his head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I deserved it, I was an utter shit back then, I’m shocked you were the first person to punch me, honestly.”  He said, and Hermione blinked, looking a bit shocked by this.  Pansy wasn’t surprised by either of them.  She was guessing Draco might start trying a bit harder, what with some people knowing about his relationship with Harry and the possibility that <em>someday </em>they might be a public thing, it didn’t exactly pay to have his boyfriends best friend hating him.  And that's when Pansy realized… she hadn’t even told Draco before showing up with Hermione tonight, he’d just blindly accepted it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also I’m sorry I didn’t tell-.”  Draco shook his head and placed a hand on either side of her face so that she’d actually look him in the eyes.  And she <em>did </em>see acceptance there, and obviously that made sense given… recent events… but it didn’t surprise her any less.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it's okay.  Technically <em>I </em>didn’t tell you either, you just… found out.  Now go sit down, see if one of them can do something about your hand.”  He said, patting Pansy once more on the shoulder before walking back to his seat next to Theo.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-And you should <em>not </em>be using your energy going to parties!  Who knows how long-.”  Pansy let out a heavy sigh and rested her hand on Daphne’s shoulder, pulling her back so she could no longer lecture her sister, who disappeared back into the crowd.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne, leave the girl be.  She’s not made of glass.”  Pansy said and Daphne looked at her like she’d just said something insane.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But she-.”  Pansy held up a hand to silence her and sighed.  She understood Daphne’s worry, she would have the same if she had a sister who was affected by an ancient bloodborne curse, but it was no reason to not let the kid enjoy her life while she still could.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wants to enjoy her childhood.  Let her, you would want to as well.”  Pansy reasoned, and Daphne muttered a bit more, but eventually let it go, and they walked into the girls dorms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling your <em>hand</em>.”  Hermione gasped once they were in the room.  Pansy examined it and shrugged, it didn’t look all that bad to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a bruise.”  She insisted, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, taking Pansy’s hand in both of hers.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Hermione said, and she felt around Pansy’s hand and pushed down where it hurt the most, causing her to gasp and pull her hand back.  That hardly seemed like the right thing to do if it <em>was </em>broken.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“OW <em>FUCKING HELL!  </em>Don’t push on it!”  Pansy gritted, trying to keep herself from screaming as Hermione released the hand.  Tracey bent down and took one look before grimacing and shaking her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s <em>broken</em>, Pansy.  You need to go to Madam Pomfrey-.”  Pansy cut her off with a raised eyebrow.  Tracey wasn’t honestly dumb enough to think that was a good idea at this hour and in the state she was currently in.  It would be like she was <em>openly </em>turning herself over to the headmaster for punishment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reeking of firewhiskey and with an injury that was <em>clearly </em>from a fight?  I don’t think so.”  Pansy sighed, wincing when she went to move her hand.  Hermione held her arm down and gave her a look.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, hold on!  Isn’t there something that we learned that fixes minor injuries?  Epik-something?”  Daphne asked, taking a quick drink from the firewhiskey bottle she’d dug out from under Tracey’s bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you need to pay better attention.  And yes, there is.  It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Episkey</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy snapped, and Daphne shrugged, sitting down on Tracey’s bed and resting her head on her shoulder.  Tracey reached up and patted the side of Daphne’s face as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Worth a shot.  Try it, Granger.”  Tracey insisted and Pansy struggled to pull her hand back but Hermione held on fast and gave her a look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Sit </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span>, okay?”  She instructed and Pansy rolled her eyes.  It's not like she can move when she’s being held in place with a possibly broken knuckle as leverage.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“No I thought I’d get up and have a run around the castle just for-</span>
  <em>
    <span>ow</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy gasped, gritting her teeth and looking away.  Hermione had decided to press down right </span>
  <em>
    <span>on </span>
  </em>
  <span>the injured knuckle and Pansy nearly passed out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, you big baby.  I had to see where the injury was originating from.”  Hermione explained gently, and she felt around it, and Pansy knew the pain was radiating before but it felt about ten times worse now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Wanker.”  She muttered and Tracey cleared her throat and threw her shoe at Pansy’s head.  It sailed right over and hit the door, but the intent was very clear. She was looking over at her with a small smirk, clearly slightly enjoying watching Pansy lose her cool just a little bit.  Asshole.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t call your girlfriend a wanker.”  Tracey said, and Pansy glared over at her, completely willing to break her other knuckles if need be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’m sorry, let me break </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>knuckle and have </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>deal with someone pushing on it!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ladies!  Shut up.  Okay, brace yourself, this may hurt.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Episkey.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Hermione muttered the incantation and Pansy felt the damn near sickening sensation of her knuckle going back in place. Merlin, that is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>something people should be able to feel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking <em>hell</em>.”  She gritted and after a moment Hermione brought a hand up to run her fingers up and down Pansy’s back, trying to soothe her a little bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try moving your fingers.”  Hermione said, and Pansy flexed her hand and sighed.  There was still a bit of residual pain, but nothing that she couldn’t handle, and nothing that warranted a licensed healers attention.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, yeah… it does feel a bit better.”  She admitted, a little begrudgingly.  She still didn’t see why Hermione had found it necessary to <em>push </em>on it beforehand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now imagine how much <em>faster </em>that would’ve been done if you hadn’t spent so much time being an asshole.”  Hermione mused, and Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved Hermione’s shoulder.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shove off.”  She muttered, but accepted it when Hermione rested her head on her chest.  She ran her fingers through Hermione’s hair as the other girl talked to Tracey about what it was like to live in the muggle world.  This was better than the party, Pansy thought, in every single way… mostly because now there was no way Pansy could break anything else.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It should be fucking illegal to look that beautiful while eating breakfast, Pansy has decided.  Hermione should not be allowed to smile and laugh while sitting at her table across the room, it’s so distracting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I actually preferred you when you were pining and brooding all the time, Pans.”  She heard Daphne snap, and she pulled her eyes away from Hermione to look at her.  Pansy noticed almost immediately that Daphne looked like she hadn’t slept at all but simultaneously hadn’t left her bed in days.  It was actually mildly concerning because she hadn’t even done her makeup, the most she’d done was brush her hair.  Odd, Daphne never left their dorm without looking put together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’s that?”  Pansy asked and Daphne sighed and set down her fork, all but glaring at Pansy, who for her part had </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea what she'd done.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Because I didn’t have to see you staring like a lovesick fool across the room at your girlfriend.”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She should be allowed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>at her girlfriend without being accused of being lovesick, that wasn’t a fair assessment of the situation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was not doing that!” Pansy said in a weak attempt to defend herself.  Daphne arched a brow and sighed, clearly not in the mood for this today.  It made Pansy wonder what the hell was going on, Daphne was in a fine mood during the day yesterday, yeah she'd gone to bed pretty quick but sometimes people just <em>do </em>that, Pansy hadn't realized that she needed to watch out for that in her friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please </span>
  </em>
  <span>you didn’t even realize when I stole bacon off of your plate.”  Daphne pointed out and Pansy looked down.  Well, the girl wasn’t lying, a large part of her food was gone which Pansy found to be a little rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I never would’ve known if you hadn’t told me, but now I know.  What are we going to do about that.” Pansy sighed, raising an eyebrow.  Daphne shrugged and continued eating, not even making eye contact with Pansy.  Odd, she was normally more willing to participate in banter, its not as fun when only one of them is doing it...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to deal with having less food because you decided to not pay attention to your surroundings.”  Daphne snapped, taking another bite of her breakfast.  Pansy raised an eyebrow at Daphne’s outburst because this was a bit much for 8 in the morning.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well-.”  Pansy started, wanting to point out that by all technicalities she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>paying attention to her surroundings, because Hermione was </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Daphne, apparently, was not interested in hearing this because she sighed and rested her head in her arms before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your girlfriend does </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>count as your surroundings!”  Daphne huffed, and Pansy let a grin spread across her face as she rested her chin on her hand, looking down at where Daphne was still resting her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re technically incorrect about that.  See, she’s in the room, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the room, therefore-.”  Daphne sighed heavily and cut her off, lifting her head up with a very blank expression on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I’m going to hex your tongue off just so you stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>talking.”  She huffed, rolling her eyes.  Pansy leaned a little closer to her, starting to get a little bit concerned.  Like, it was normal for Daphne to </span>
  <em>
    <span>sometimes </span>
  </em>
  <span>be a bit of a bitch, they both were, but this seemed like something that was a bit more.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is your problem this morning?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne glared at her, but eventually sat up and faced her head on.  ‘Good, talk about it, no need to snap at the people around you’ Pansy thought, and she waited patiently for Daphne to start talking about whatever it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My <em>problem </em>is that I caught Blaise with another girl last night, and when I confronted him he said it was ‘nothing personal’ and I needed to ‘calm down’.  Like who the hell does he think he is?!”  Daphne sighed, running a hand through her hair.  Pansy did feel herself get angry at what she had been made aware of, but she decided that maybe being the calm voice of reason might be a little more helpful right now as opposed to blind, burning anger.  Even if it wasn’t as easy for her.  Pansy put a comforting hand on Daphne’s shoulder and squeezed lightly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He thinks he’s a boy who can do whatever he wants because no one has ever <em>successfully </em>called him on it.  Answer me this.  The whole time you’ve been ‘with’ Blaise, have <em>you </em>ever been with anyone else?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne thought for a moment and chewed on her lip.  Honestly, Pansy knew the answer to that was no, Daphne was loyal to a fucking fault, even to those who will never be loyal to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… No.”  Daphne finally admitted and Pansy pinched the bridge of her nose.  Merlin, Daphne was too smart to be acting like this right now and it was driving Pansy crazy that she was letting some stupid boy have so much power over her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And he basically said you’re not together and it's not cheating, right?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne looked infinitely less angry, but that was mostly because she looked like her heart was starting to break.  This had not been Pansy’s intention but it might be the only way to have Daphne see past Blaise’s bullshit right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed and Pansy nodded.  Good, they seemed to finally be getting somewhere for the first time… basically ever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In that case… find someone else, flirt in front of him, see what happens.  If he really cares <em>something </em>will happen, if he doesn’t then… you know he never really gave a damn in the first place.”  Pansy recommended.  While she knows this wasn’t the most <em>solid </em>advice in the world, it would help narrow shit down, that's for sure.  Daphne thought about it for a moment before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So if he cares, there's something to stay for?”  She asked and Pansy considered that.  She didn’t want Daphne thinking that being possessive was a normal thing, so she decided to specify.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, not necessarily.  If he gets possessive and starts like… punching the person you’re with or saying you can only be his, run in the other direction, my dad did that shit to my mom all the time.  But if he just like… pulls you aside and asks if you two are together or not, then he <em>might </em>be redeemable.” Pansy explained and Daphne raised an eyebrow.  She could clearly sense that Pansy was not counting on Blaise being understanding.  Of course Pansy wasn’t counting on that, she could see right through the shit Blaise pulled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You say that like you’d sooner believe that hell would freeze over.”  Daphne said, and Pansy nodded.  That was a pretty accurate description of what she was thinking right now<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.  You’re right to sense that.  Blaise and I are… <em>friendly, </em>sure but that doesn’t mean I trust that boy as far as I can throw him.”  Pansy sighed, and this seemed to confuse Daphne a bit.  It made perfect sense that Pansy had stopped trusting Blaise, anyone who is willing to do what he has done to Daphne to someone without remorse should not be trusted<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But he’s never done anything to you-.”  Daphne started, but Pansy was quick to cut her off and shake her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pause.  Hurting you and taking you for granted <em>is </em>doing something to me, alright?”  Pansy said, putting her hand gently on Daphne’s shoulder.  Daphne raised an eyebrow and smiled, just a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Daphne asked and Pansy nodded.  She didn’t know when that had gotten lost in translation, because it’d been proven this year that Daphne would go to bat for her, so of course that would be returned.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah.  Mess with my fucking friends and you’ve messed with me.”  Pansy said, and she was completely serious.  It made her very angry when someone messed with anyone close to her, even Draco when the two were at odds.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you don’t have to-.”  Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  How could Daphne think she didn’t <em>want </em>to stand up for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes I do.  So make sure you tell me how that shit turns out so that I can kill him when need be, alright?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne looked a little apprehensive at the way that Pansy said that.  To be fair, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been a little over enthusiastic.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You say when, not if, as though you know…”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy chuckled and shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m making a very educated guess on his character.”  Pansy pointed out.  They'd both known Blaise a long time, and Pansy wasn't blind to his issues because she thought he was attractive, so she would be the better judge, at least in her opinion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if he’s-."  Pansy sighed and rubbed her temples.  She knew for a fact that he was <em>not </em>going to change, he loved the way his life was far too much to change for a girl.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne Greengrass.  The boy has made you cry how many times already in this calendar year?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne was silent for a good couple of minutes before she answered Pansy’s question.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“.... 10.”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy's jaw dropped.  Sure, she wasn't shocked that he had made Daphne cry a lot this year, but for Merlin's sake, it'd only been less then a month, that had to be a record.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not even the end of January, Merlin’s beard.  That shouldn’t be legal, he should have some form of punishment against him.”  Pansy muttered, aboslutely mystified by the fact that this had been happening so much and she didn't even know.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I’m just being overly emotional-.”  Daphne started, obviously wanting to defend Blaise but Pansy cut her off by putting her hand up.  She would not be able to physically make it through this conversation if Daphne went on excusing his actions.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  You aren’t!  He makes promises to you about being together that he doesn’t keep because he wants to be able to hook up, even though you’ve specifically said you don’t want to just be a hookup.  He’s intentionally being a royal douchebag.”  Pansy said, trying not to let her voice raise about a normal level, because yelling at Daphne didn't exactly feel like the right emotion right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He could change-.”  Pansy shook her head at this.  It was a bit late to be thinking he was going to be anything other than what he already was.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been waiting for that since fourth year, Daph.  Somehow I just don’t see it happening.”  Pansy said, trying to be gentle.  Daphne sighed and ran a hand through her hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.  I’ll do what you said, but if he’s interested still, you have to take some of what you’ve said back.”  Daphne reasoned and Pansy thought for a moment about the terms.  It seemed fair enough.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And if he’s playing you like a violin you have to be able to admit I’m right.”  Pansy said, and Daphne nodded.  Granted, this did seem uncharacteristically fast for Daphne to agree, but Pansy decide to not look a gift horse in the mouth.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.  Do we have a deal?”  Daphne asked, holding out her hand for Pansy to shake.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do believe so, yes.”  Pansy said, and she and Daphne shook hands.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“Hey, you seem like you’re a million miles away today, what's going on?”  Hermione asked, lifting her head up and off of Pansy’s chest. Hermione had suggested they go to the room of requirement to have some time away from prying eyes, and they did.  But Hermione was right in sensing that Pansy’s mind was elsewhere.  She couldn’t let go of the fact that Blaise was being such a fucking wanker for no reason.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  Oh, nothing.  Just some shit with Daphne and the idiot that she just can’t let go of.”  Pansy murmured, pulling Hermione back to her and continuing her lazy movements of dragging her fingers up and down Hermione’s back, but that answer apparently wasn’t enough context for the Gryffindor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need to talk about it?”  She asked, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to talk about how much she wished she could cave Blaise’s face in right now for how he was being.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span> no.  Just know that if I come to class tomorrow with bloodied knuckles, he earned it months ago.”  Pansy said, her frustration clearly showing through her voice.  Hermione sighed and looked over at her, and she looked exhausted at the mere thought of having to stop another fight from breaking out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.”  She started and Pansy nodded and turned to her, taking her hand as she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>hoping </span>
  </em>
  <span>that I have to hit him, but I will if need be.”  Pansy insisted.  Hermione took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.  Pansy understood that sometimes her sense of humor could be a bit... much.  Apparently this was one of those times.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling we </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>mended your knuckle.  Like it hasn't even been a full week and you hated getting it fixed.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy gave her a smirk that </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>registered as a challenge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got two hands, I could leave one broken.”  Pansy joked, and Hermione shoved her shoulder and sighed, looking away from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not a good way to go about thinking.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy shrugged.  She never said it was anywhere near a healthy or good mindset, just that it was a mindset she currently had.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but it’d feel so good.”  Pansy said and Hermione sighed and shook her head again.  So the humor is just not hitting today then?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy no-.”  Hermione started, but they were interrupted by a door appearing on the wall and a very distraught looking Harry walking in.  He jumped when he saw them, clearly expecting to be alone in here.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh… sorry.  I didn’t know anyone was in here, I just needed a place to think.”  He mumbled and Hermione was on her feet in a moment, walking over to him.  Pansy could feel her concern from where she was still seated.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry, are you crying?”  Hermione asked softly as she tried in vain to make  him look her in the eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Oh, no.  No not at all.”  Harry said, putting a very unconvincing smile on his face as he meet Hermione’s eyes.  Obviously, this didn’t work because Hermione is not an </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry…”  She started, but he shook his head and sighed, running his hands through his hair as he tried to calm her down.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m perfectly fine, Hermione.  Um… actually.  Pansy?”  Harry asked, sounding hollow.  Pansy  glanced up at him and raised an eyebrow, a little confused as to why he was addressing her, they weren’t friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whats up, golden boy?”  Pansy asked, and Harry rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Could I speak to you for a moment.”  He asked, and Pansy realized what this was about.  He was crying about Draco, of course.  Of course the two most dramatic people she’d ever met had to get into a relationship, Merlin’s beard.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to talk to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Hermione asked, sounding completely not convinced that this was real.  It was fair, Pansy was surprised too, but it looked serious.  She stood up and walked over to Harry, who took her by the forearm and led her out the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll just take a moment, I promise she’ll be right back.”  Harry called over his shoulder, and Pansy heard Hermione let out a sigh that sounded so comically fed up that Hermione fought to keep a laugh from coming out.  She was being so immature about this, it was honestly hilarious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“....Fine.” Hermione mumbled, and walked back to where they’d been sitting as Pansy and Harry exited the room.  Pansy couldn't help but have her mind wander as to what the hell the boy wanted.  He looked like someone had just kicked his owl or something.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you need, Potter?”  Pansy asked, honestly a little concerned at how distraught the boy looked.  He had so much going for him that it was a little surprising to see him like this.  Pansy really thought he went around so confident because he was the Golden boy of Gryffindor, apparently she'd been wrong.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… so… Draco’s been blowing off our meetups and he’s been really distant… is he okay?”  He asked and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  As far as she knew, Draco hadn’t had anything go wrong recently, so this was a surprise, and maybe something they would have to talk about later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s been okay from what I’ve seen.”  Pansy said and she saw Harry’s face fall even more, which she didn’t realize was possible.  He was silent for a good moment before speaking again, this time sounding far more nervous.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is he done with me?”  Harry asked quietly and Pansy sighed.  She didn’t have the answer to that, but she felt like she needed to put the boy a bit more at ease.  She could explain that Draco has been talking about Harry since first year, or something sweet like that, but she didn't think that was quite the vibe for this conversation.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Probably not.  Remember that he constantly has his dad breathing down his neck… hold on I’m trying to think of a good comparison… Oh!  You have a godfather from the Black family, right?”  Pansy asked and Harry raised an eyebrow, clearly not getting the connection.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius?  Yeah, he got kicked out of his house.”  He said and Pansy nodded.  This would work perfectly, Pansy just had to find the correct way to articulate it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly</span>
  <span>, and he had a lot of expectations from his parents that he never lived up to, right?”  Pansy  asked and Harry nodded, still not getting it.  Pansy though of how she could make this as obvious as humanly possible.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Harry said, and Pansy thought for a moment.  How does she politely say that Draco’s father is a piece of shit <em>while </em>tying it in… and then it hit her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well it’ll do you good to remember that Draco’s mother is your godfather’s sister.  And Lucius is just as bad as Sirius’s parents were, Draco is not allowed to be his own person, and he’s not allowed to feel… happy.  Lucius will do anything to keep it that Draco is broken down enough that he will always do his bidding.”  Pansy explained, but this didn't seem to satiate Harry's worry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  Pansy sighed and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to silence him, just so she could get her sentence out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry I can 100% guarantee he’s not mad at you.  He would’ve already been overly dramatic about it if he was.”  Pansy insisted and Harry took a deep breath and nodded, looking up at Pansy one last time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re sure.”  He said and Pansy nodded.  She was fairly certain that she could pick up on when Draco was being a drama queen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fairly certain ye-oh. Hello.”  Pansy said when she felt the boys arms close tightly around her.  It took her a moment before she patted his back lightly and he released her, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I just… thank you for the reassurance.”  Harry sighed and Pansy grinned and nodded.   She was just happy someone could make Draco happy, she'd pretty much do anything to keep the relationship going, it had made being around him a whole lot easier.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, I get it.  Remember, he and I used to ‘date’.”  Pansy said, putting that word in quotes.  Merlin, she couldn't imagine a world where she <em>actually </em>wanted to date Draco, it just seemed wrong.  Harry sighed and shook himself out once before straightening his back up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… I’ll let you get back… Hermione and I are going to have to have a talk later.”  He said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Had Hermione managed to do something to offend him?  Because she would be a little impressed, she didn't think her girlfriend had it in her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’s that?”  She asked and Harry flashed her a little grin and shoved his hands into his pockets.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The entire Slytherin house knew about your relationship and she hasn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>told </span>
  </em>
  <span>me.  Ron knew before me.”  He said and <em>that </em>made Pansy laugh.  The thought that Ronald Billius Weasley knew before Harry.  It must have been humbling for him to learn that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’ll tell you, just ask.”  Pansy insisted and Harry nodded, turning on his heel to walk back the way he came.  Pansy couldn't help but think that if they were in the same house, they might be friends.  He wasn't terribly stuck up, and they seemed to have similar personalities, it could work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Later, Pansy.”  he called over his shoulder, and Pansy sighed and waited for the door to come back and walked in to see Hermione still looking insanely pissed off.  Pansy sucked in her breath and walked over, feeling Hermione's glare on her as she moved.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did Harry need </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>for.”  Hermione spat and Pansy sighed and sank down onto Hermione's lap so that she could make direct eye contact with the other girl.  This <em>also </em>seemed to distract Hermione from her annoyance for at least a moment as she rested her hands on Pansy's hips let her eyes travel up until they met Pansy's.  The distraction was intentional, Pansy wasn't exactly in the mood to fight about something so trivial.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll tell you when he’s ready, I’m not even supposed to know.”  Pansy insisted, resting her arms over Hermione's shoulders as she spoke, running her fingers up the skin on the back of her neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Then how do you?”  Hermione asked and Pansy sighed and thought back to how terrified Draco had looked.  She honestly wished she'd never gone out that night, it would've been easier for Draco, she thinks, if no one had ever found out.  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you stumble upon something while sneaking out of your dorm… you end up knowing things.”  Pansy explained, attempting to be as vauge as possible.  Hermione seemed to understand that that was as much as Pansy could say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just…. I hate to know he’s keeping secrets from me.”  Hermione mumbled, and Pansy had to chuckle because… it was a tad hypocritical, expecting Harry to tell her everything when she herself was holding in a secret from him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean… </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re keeping a secret from him as well.”  Pansy pointed out, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, as if she had no idea what Pansy was talking about.  That’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>possible, </span>
  </em>
  <span>from what Pansy knew, Hermione knew damn near everything, she couldn’t have forgotten this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”  She asked and Pansy shook her head, her smile growing ever wider.  This was <em>too </em>good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You forgot to </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell him that you and I are dating.” Pansy said and she watched the realization cross her face as she dumped Pansy off of her lap and stood up, looking stricken.  Pansy groaned and sat up because <em>that </em>was not the intent of telling her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit. You’re right, I totally meant to and I just… spaced.”  Hermione said, pacing back and forth.  Wow, Pansy had not anticipated that this would eat at the other witch, she just thought they might laugh about it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It happens to the best of us.”  Pansy tried, and Hermione whipped around, her eyes a little wild as she continued to spiral down the path she was on.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?  Forgetting to tell one of my best friends that we’re dating ‘happens to the best of us?  I highly doubt that.”  Hermione hissed, running her fingers through her hair.  Pansy had not anticipated this much stress from one little mistake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you can’t remember </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>that would be damn near impossible.” Pansy drawled, not quite sure how to help the situation she had accidentally started.  She knew she wanted Hermione to calm down, she just didn't know how to make her do that without casting a sleeping charm on her or something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, you’re being sweet but-.”  Pansy sighed and cut her off to pull her down onto her lap, looking her in the eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  Just tell him tonight, I’m certain he’ll be supportive.  Now come here.”  Pansy said, putting a finger under Hermione's chin to tilt her head towards hers.  She was inching closer to kiss her when Hermione sighed and pulled her face back, clearly not okay with just accepting that she had forgotten one little thing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  Pansy put a finger to her lips and raised an eyebrow.  She was worrying far too much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione.  Come here.” Pansy whispered, and Hermione's mind seemed to calm down for a moment when she looked into Pansy's eyes, like for the moment she could handle the fact that everything wasn't perfect.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Okay.”  She finally said, and Pansy closed the gap between them and kissed her soundly, just for long enough that she felt Hermione start to relax in earnest, and then she pulled back and brushed some of Hermione's curls out of her face with the back of her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You amaze me.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Why's that?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged.  There was a whole list of reasons why Hermione was somewhat of a wonder to Pansy, but she was referring to a single one this time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You possess the ability to do wandless magic, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>you’re easily the most powerful person in our year, but you get all sad and embarrassed when you accidentally forget one little thing… I don’t know, I find it funny.  Like something has to give sometimes, you know?  Obviously you’re not going to be able to remember every little thing.”  Pansy explained and Hermione sighed, letting the ghost of a smile fall on her lips as she leaned down to kiss Pansy's cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re being nice today.”  Hermione mumbled, tucking her face into Pansy's neck.  She chuckled and rested a hand in Hermione's hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… you’re my </span>
  <em>
    <span>girlfriend </span>
  </em>
  <span>I hope I don’t register as a bitch all the time.”  She joked and Hermione sighed and lifted her head up, looking a little tired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not what I was-.”  Pansy sighed and pressed a kiss against Hermione's jaw to quiet her before looking back up at the girl.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mione, I was kidding, alright?”  She said and Hermione nodded and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  Hermione said, and let out a yawn that seemed to surprise herself.  Pansy wasn't shocked, if her mind ran as fast as Hermione's she'd probably be exhausted all the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Rest now, love."  Pansy murmured, pulling Hermione closer by her waist and letting her tuck her head back against her neck.  It was only a couple of minutes before Hermione's breathing slowed a little bit and her body was relaxed, and Pansy couldn't say she wasn't expecting it after her freak out.  A large, unexpected reaction like that would take the energy out of anyone, and she'd already thought Hermione was tired when they'd gotten there, so she just wrapped her arms around her and sighed, trying to pay attention to the time that passed.  Pansy didn't want to deal with the comments if they were late to dinner.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>If she has to read one more paragraph about the properties of sleeping draught, Pansy is fairly certain she’s just going to throw herself out of the nearest window.  She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>bored </span>
  </em>
  <span>with potions, bored with the stupid textbook, bored with-.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… are you in the mood to do something you’ve never done before?”  Hermione asked and Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>that Hermione was not implying anything inappropriate, she wouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially </span>
  </em>
  <span>not  while they were in the library, but her phrasing left her open for the </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect </span>
  </em>
  <span>joke.  Pansy smirked and flicked her eyebrow up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione you flatter yourself-.”  Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, resting her head in her hands for a moment.  Honestly, that was on </span>
  <em>
    <span>her, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy thought.  She should have known that it was going to go that way with that vague of a phrase.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin’s beard </span>
  </em>
  <span>that is not what I meant, and I think you know that!  I was going to ask if you wanted to come up to the Gryffindor tower.”  Hermione said and Pansy’s smile grew a little bigger.  She did believe she may just be corrupting the Gryffindor a little bit more each day.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, well Ms. Granger.  So willing to break that rule?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged.  This was quite the odd reaction, considering that last week she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>hellbent on following the rules.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean… nothing happened when I snuck into the Slytherin common room, right?”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy sighed.  Her hand still had the residual pain remaining from shattering a knuckle on Goyle’s face to prove that some things </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Other than me punching someone who I’ve wanted to punch for a while now, I suppose not, no.”  Pansy said, flexing her hand a bit as she spoke.  Hermione nodded and leaned a little bit across the table as she spoke, Pansy thought it was maybe so she could see that this wasn’t a joke, it was a serious offer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then it won’t be that bad if I sneak you up there.  I just… we’ve never really hung out with my friends before… Like yes, Ginny and Luna came along on that Hogsmeade trip but we’ve spent a considerable amount of time around Daphne and Tracey -not that I’m complaining, they’ve been, for the most part, lovely-  I just think it would be good for you to-.”  Pansy reached over and grabbed Hermione’s hand, holding it between each of hers so that she would stop talking and look at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling, relax.  Lets go.”  Pansy said softly, and Hermione blinked in surprise.  Did she seriously think that she was going to have to spend </span>
  <em>
    <span>forever </span>
  </em>
  <span>convincing Pansy, who hadn’t even wanted to study today?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… I did not expect you to agree that quickly, yes let's go.”  Hermione responded, and stood up.  They gathered their things and started walking, and Pansy could feel Hermione’s stress level rising the closer they got to the Gryffindor tower.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, where are you-.”  Pansy shot Theo a ‘don’t ask’ glare and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Official prefect business, Nott.”  Pansy said, trying to make her tone sound as authoritative as possible, and like she had nothing to hide.  This apparently didn’t work, because Theo still looked incredibly dubious.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, up in the Gryffindor tower?”  He asked, arching his eyebrow.  Pansy stopped walking and turned around, grabbing Theo by the tie and yanking him down a little so she could more easily stare him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell anyone where I’m going and I will not hesitate to hex your balls off, are we clear?”  Pansy asked through gritted teeth, and Theo’s eyes widened as he pushed her away and smoothed out his tie, looking a little afraid.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Pansy!  I didn’t plan on telling anyone anyways, but yeah we’re clear.”  Theo said, and Pansy put a fake smile on her face as she nodded.  Sometimes a good threat was a nice level of security to have.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. I’ll see you downstairs tonight, Theo.”  Pansy said, her voice sickeningly sweet as the boy turned around and walked away.  Pansy could practically <em>see </em>his fear as he retreated, it was brilliant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was an… interesting threat.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out a bit like a laugh.  Pansy shrugged as they continued climbing the stairs.  Threatening Theo was sometimes needed, it was like... a way of life.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a extremely fitting threat for someone like him.”  She said and Hermione sighed and nodded, raising her eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as you don’t actually <em>do </em>it.”  Hermione said, sounding very apprehensive.  Pansy smirked and slid her hand into Hermione’s as they continued to walk.  She was pleasantly surprised when Hermione didn't drop her hand, sometimes Pansy tends to forget that since they aren't hiding it, of course Hermione would still hold her hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The jury is out.”  Pansy said, and it was <em>clear </em>she was joking.  Hermione sighed and shook her head as they came to a stop in front of the Gryffindor Portrait and Hermione flashed Pansy a quick smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, well.  We’re here.”  Hermione said, squeezing Pansy’s hand quickly as she turned to speak the password, but Pansy gently turned Hermione’s face towards her, wanting to give her one more chance at an out.  There was no way this <em>wouldn’t </em>end messily.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure about this?”  Pansy asked softly, and Hermione nodded and pressed a quick kiss to Pansy’s cheek.  Pansy would never admit how much that made her heart pound, it was just… so casual, and she didn’t think she could get used to that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  I want my friends to like you as much as I do.”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  There was no way a bunch of Gryffindors were going to like her, it was a wonder that <em>one </em>did.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love, that's sweet but I just don’t see a world where that is going to happen.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione shrugged and kissed the back of her hand quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We never know unless we try, right?”  Hermione asked, and she looked so sure, so hopeful that Pansy really didn’t want to destroy that idea for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione smiled and looked forward again, muttering the passcode.  The portrait swung open and Hermione pulled her inside, but stopped short of the common room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait here.”  Hermione instructed, giving her a quick kiss before turning to walk into the Gryffindor common room.  Pansy felt a little ridiculous, waiting here in the corridor as if she was some kind of threat to the people inside.  She wasn’t <em>anymore</em>, so they didn’t have to worry about her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione!  Where did you go?”  Pansy recognized the voice talking almost immediately as Ginny, and she relaxed a little bit.  At least one person who knew she wasn’t complete shit was out there, that could be a buffer for her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was down in the library with Pansy and-.”  Hermione was cut off by someone snickering.  Pansy <em>considered </em>walking in there and hexing whoever had said that but she held herself back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still don’t see what you like so much about that fucking snake.”  Pansy tensed at the sound of Seamus’s voice.  He sounded so disgusted, so angry.  She knew that this was a terrible idea from the start, even if she <em>had </em>been curious, coming here was not going to end well.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seamus.  Shut the fuck up, mate.  Parkinson makes her happy, and you don’t really get a say in it either way.”  Pansy heard Harry snap, and she had to smile a little bit.  Okay, maybe Draco had chosen a good one this time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Speaking of Pansy…”  Hermione said, and the room became deathly silent for a moment, at least the area that Hermione was in and Pansy <em>considered </em>running away.  It wouldn’t be difficult, and she could stop any of this from happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you do?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy could tell she did it to break whatever tension there was in the room, and she didn’t want Hermione to have to deal with announcing her, because <em>that </em>felt weird.  Pansy cleared her throat and walked into the common room, trying to ignore the eyes on her from around the room, even the group of people that Hermione <em>wasn’t </em>even talking to.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… hey.”  Pansy said, and she saw Ginny was smiling and Hermione looked behind her.  Pansy couldn’t tell if she was <em>happy </em>that she had just walked in or if she was mad in any way.  Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, there was a large figure between the two of them and she was being stared down by Dean Thomas.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  He said, and he was trying to sound intimidating, Pansy could tell, but she couldn’t help the little chuckle that came out of her mouth.  How was she supposed to be scared of <em>Dean Thomas</em>?  He was like… the least intimidating member of the Gryffindor house.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dean-.”  Hermione sighed, and he looked over at her and stepped to the side for a moment.  Hermione reached out and grabbed Pansy’s arm, pulling her close and wrapping an arm around her waist.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  She shouldn’t be allowed in here, in fact she technically isn’t, but especially not after what she calls people with her little <em>friends</em>.”  Dean spat and Pansy took a deep breath and shook her head.  She did not want to spend the time getting angry over something so small.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mate, I haven’t said that word in over a year at this point so don’t go lumping me in with the same assholes that I fight with every day.  And what, praytell, have I personally ever done to you?”  Pansy asked, knowing her voice came out a little bit bored.  Dean blinked and chewed on his lip, clearly trying to figure out if he could think of anything.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well nothing but-.”  He said and Pansy held up a hand to silence him and narrowed her eyes.  He had no reason to hate her, he just hated on principle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>have done nothing, so don’t  you think it's a little ignorant to judge me as though my entire house thinks the exact same because we don’t!”  Pansy said, her voice coming out a little more shrill than intended.  Dean narrowed his eyes and leaned down so he could make eye contact as he spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t believe you.”  He said, his words were simple, but they set Pansy’s chest on fire with rage.  She hadn’t spoken a single lie, and what's more, she’d never asked for his approval or his belief!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.  You don’t have to, I don’t give a single shit about what some pretentious, narcissistic, </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole </span>
  </em>
  <span>with a hero complex thinks about me anyways!  You’re not someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>need to make a good impression on anyways, so think whatever you want to think.”  Pansy snarled, and she felt Hermione’s hand snake up her back as she started tracing calming patterns onto Pansy’s shoulder blade.  She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking maybe the conversation was over, but for some reason people just can’t let it end.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you actually like Hermione.  I think you’re just slowly wearing her down and then your entire house is going to do something terrible to her.  I mean… it's not like you’ve ever seemed to be capable of being loving and caring before, why would that change so much now?” Dean asked, and Pansy opened her mouth, but before she could there was a streak of red hair and she saw Ginny storming forward, eyes blazing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You fucking-.”  She started, but before she could finish Harry cleared his throat from one of the couches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dean.  I think you should go.”  Harry said quietly, and Dean looked taken aback by this, like he couldn’t believe people were defending Pansy.  Honestly, Pansy didn’t know why he thought people would be on his side, he was being a dick.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious?  You’re taking <em>her </em>side?”  He asked and Harry shrugged and nodded.  Yeah, Pansy was <em>incredibly </em>pleased with Draco’s taste in men right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  He said, and Dean swallowed heavily before turning his attention to Ron.  Now that <em>was </em>the one person that she was still worried was not on her side.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ron, I can’t believe you’re-.”  Ron held up a hand to quiet the boy and sighed<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She and I have talked our shit out, and she makes my <em>friend </em>happy so I’m putting my personal opinion aside.  I can’t believe you’re not willing to do the same.”  He said calmly, and Pansy blinked in surprise because when had they worked their shit out?  She certainly did not remember that conversation happening in recent times...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, I’m just looking out for the good of my-.”  Pansy heard Hermione scoff next to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut the fuck up, Dean!”  She growled and Pansy’s mouth dropped open a little at Hermione’s sudden interjection.  While she of course knew that Hermione would stand up for her, she didn’t expect it to be so firmly.  Dean apparently wasn’t expecting that response either because he paused fully before looking at her in confusion.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?”  Dean asked softly and Hermione sighed and ran her free hand through her hair before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, thank you for thinking you need to stand up for me but I’m completely capable of making my own romantic decisions and I <em>like </em>being with Pansy.  Is she always nice?  No, but that's part of her that I like… she’s real.”  Hermione said, and Pansy felt like her heart might just… fall right out of her chest.  That might be the perfect reaction to a beautiful girl saying that she <em>actually </em>liked everything about Pansy.  Dean sighed and rolled his eyes, which brought Pansy back to reality and made her realize that she had been staring at Hermione’s profile the whole time she was zoned out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.  I’ll go.  But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  Dean muttered, and stormed off in the direction of the boy’s dorms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, why don’t you come over here, sit down with us.”  Harry said, gesturing to the ground in front of him.  Pansy raised her eyebrow as she walked over.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… okay.”  She mumbled, and settled down.  After a moment, Ginny appeared on her other side and jostled her shoulder.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about that… some of the people in this house are rather-.”  Pansy cut her off and chuckled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Assholish?”  Pansy tried, and Ginny laughed and nodded, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was going to say <em>passionate</em> but that works too.”  Ginny said carefully and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She knew Ginny was on her side, but she was still a bit irritated.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right because Merlin <em>forbid </em>someone insult a member of the esteemed Gryffindor house, or, you know, any house but Slytherin.”  Pansy spat, finally letting herself <em>feel</em> that anger that she had shoved down a bit while Dean was reprimanding her.  Ron sighed and shook his head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson that’s not-.”  Ron started, and Pansy narrowed her eyes.  If he was willing to stand up for her and claimed they'd 'worked out their shit' then he should be willing to use her first name.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is <em>Pansy</em>.”  She said, and Hermione rested her head on her shoulder, which <em>did </em>make her relax a little bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, can we just-.”  Hermione tried, but she was interrupted by a laugh that came from somewhere else.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’d be better if we just called her what she is.”  Pansy heard Cormac McLaggen pipe up from across the room and turned around to see him smirking.  Oh great, yeah, that's what tonight needed.  Pansy sighed and got back on her feet, turning around to face the boy, and Hermione was quick to follow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cormac, if you-.”  Hermione started to warn, but Pansy put a hand on her arm to silence her.  She could handle this on her own, and she certainly planned to.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what <em>am I, </em>Cormac?”  Pansy asked, arching her brow in a challenge.  She was interested to know just <em>how </em>he thought of her, and she hoped he said something stupid enough that she could hex him.  Cormac stood up and crossed his arms.  He flashed the <em>most </em>condescending smirk she had ever seen before he began talking<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A shrill little bitch, who’s probably only good for one thing.”  Cormac said, and Pansy felt Hermione tense next to her and rubbed her back.  She was used to <em>this </em></span>
  <span>kind of assumptive harassment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Really</em>, is that so?  And what would that be?”  Pansy asked, and he chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.  Pansy imagined about 25 different ways she could kill him before he even got the words out<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d bet 10 galleons that you’re a freak in be-.”  He didn’t get to finish what he was about to say before Hermione’s fist streaked through the air and struck Cormac down, and Pansy looked at her in shock.  Hermione stood, breathing heavily as her glare blazed down on Cormac.  She looked like she might hit him again, and that one would not have been justified, so Pansy reached out and grabbed her elbow, but Hermione struggled against her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione!”  Pansy whispered frantically as she wrapped her arms around her from behind and pulled her back, struggling as she did, so she was a safe distance from Cormac, and even then she kept her arms tightly around her.  Cormac looked like he was in shock as he looked down and saw something small and white on the ground and he picked up.  Holy shit, Hermione had managed to knock his tooth out.  Pansy was nothing short of impressed by that shit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck!  You broke my tooth!”  Cormac snarled, and Pansy held Hermione back with some difficulty as she tried to break loose.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ever talk about my girlfriend again and I’ll break a lot more than that.  Now get.  The fuck.  Out of here.”  Hermione said through clenched teeth, and surprisingly enough, Cormac went without another word.  Pansy turned to Hermione and slid a hand around the back of her neck, kissing her quickly, still wary of the fact that they <em>were </em>in front of other people.  When they broke apart, Pansy rested her forehead against Hermione’s and rubbed her thumb across the nape of her neck.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to do that.”  Pansy murmured and Hermione smiled and shrugged, running her fingertips softly down Pansy’s cheek.  Her gentleness always ended up surprising Pansy, mostly the fact that someone would <em>want </em>to be that gentle around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve done the same for me.  Not to mention, I’ve been looking for any reason to put him back in his place.”  Hermione said, her smirk and shrug so nonchalant as opposed to her words that it nearly took Pansy’s breath away.  There was something hot about that quality, the ability to do and say things with an </span>
  <em>
    <span>earned </span>
  </em>
  <span>confidence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  Pansy finally said, when she remembered that she hadn’t answered Hermione yet.  Behind them, Ron cleared his throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Pansy.”  He said, and Pansy sighed and turned to him.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Ronald?”  She asked and he shifted a bit in his seat before speaking.  This should be good.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re dating Hermione, that’s become abundantly clear.  Why should we be… okay with that?”  He said, his words obviously carefully chosen in a way to not sound like a douche.  Pansy almost had to laugh because not even a month ago he was whining in a train compartment about her joining them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Well technically you don’t have to be, but we do have a common interest.”  Pansy pointed out and Ron raised an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?”  He asked and Pansy knew that he knew the answer.  Hermione was their common interest in that moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We both want to see her happy, I apparently make her happy, it's a win-win for both of us.”  Pansy said, and Ron thought for a moment before nodding and smiling a little bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d say that's a fair reason.  Welcome in.” Ron said and Pansy chuckled at this.  Technically she was already in, but she didn't need to say that to Ron, he was only trying to be polite and she knew that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… thanks?”  She mumbled and he immediately turned to Ginny, his whole demeanor turning serious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay so anyways.  Ginny.  Name in </span>
  <em>
    <span>one way</span>
  </em>
  <span> how the Harpies are any better then the Chudley Cannons?”  He asked, and Pansy almost let out a laugh because they were seriously arguing about <em>Professional Quidditch Teams?  </em>Hilarious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s easy:  Every single way.” Ginny said with a smirk and Pansy watched as Ron's face turned almost comically red.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a cop out!”  He snapped, and Ginny shrugged.  Of course she knew that, Pansy would've responded the same way in a conversation like this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe so, but it's accurate.”  She said with a chuckle.  Ron said something back but Pansy wasn't really paying attention. She looked over at Hermione, who was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest and looked down at the girl's hand.  It was bruised and a little bit swollen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  Pansy muttered, bumping Hermione's shoulder.  The other witch looked at her with a raised eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  She asked</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should look at your hand, make sure you didn’t break anything.  Plus… you need to cool off, you still look ten seconds from punching someone.”  Pansy said with a small smile and Hermione glared at her for a moment before standing up and offering her a hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Okay.  Come with me.”  She said, and pulled Pansy to her feet before leading her into the girl's dorm.  The second they were inside Pansy was surprised to see that they weren't alone, and she saw the almost comical way that both Lavender and Pavarti's mouths dropped open in shock at the state of Hermione's hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione!  Your hand-.”  Pansy put her hand up to silence Pavarti before settling with Hermione on her bed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got it handled, Patil.”  Pansy muttered, and looked closer at Hermione's hand.  It wasn't <em>as </em>swollen as she had orignally thought, but it still looked like there could be some serious damage going on.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is she-.”  Pavarti kicked Lavender's shin lightly and cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sh, Lavender.  Did you forget?”  Parvati whispered, and Lavender looked over at her, the confusion on her face almost comical.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Forget what?”  She asked and Pavarti elbowed her ribs, both girls still watching as Pansy studied Hermione’s knuckles.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s Hermione’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>girlfriend</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Pavarti whispered, and Pansy felt her cheeks get hot.  She wasn't used to being referred to as Hermione's girlfriend, but she quite liked it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Right.  Sorry, Parkinson, didn’t mean to assume you were being-.” Pansy cut Lavender off with a nod.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine just let me focus for a minute.  Does that hurt, love?"  Pansy asked, pressing down on Hermione's bruised knuckle.  The other girl let out a gasp, and Pansy was honestly surprised she didn't get kicked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She gritted and Pansy did feel bad for causing her pain, but it was also <em>needed </em>so she could know if Madam Pomfrey was in the cards tonight.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Okay.  But you can move it?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione tried and winced, but she was able to close her hand into a full fist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…. Yeah I can move it.”  Hermione said, and Pansy let out a quiet sigh of relief.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then it's not broken, just a nasty bruise. Aren’t you glad you used your non dominant hand?” Pansy teased and she saw Hermione roll her eyes and clench her jaw.  She knew the other girl had wanted to do more in that moment, but Pansy also knew that she shouldn't.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>He </span>
  </em>
  <span>should be glad that I did.”  Hermione grumbled and Pansy chuckled, pressing a quick kiss to Hermione's lips before she continued to move Hermione's hand around to make sure she hadn't missed any signs of a break.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who?”  Parvati asked and Pansy grinned over at the two girls.  She was more than willing to talk about what had happened.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, she decked McLaggen.  It was terrific to watch.”  Pansy explained and Pavarti nodded, leaning back a bit on her bed.  Pansy could tell she was trying to be cool about the fact that there </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>a Slytherin in the dorm, probably just for Hermione’s sake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t doubt it.  Hermione has a crazy hard hit from what I’ve heard.”  She said and Hermione raised an eyebrow and winced a little when Pansy kept prodding around on her hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How would you know that, Parvarti?”  Hermione asked and Pavarti smiled and flicked an eyebrow up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, rumors spiraled after you punched Draco third year.” Pavarit  said, and Hermione’s face immediately fell.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, why does everyone remember that?”  Hermione groaned, looking rather embarrassed. Pansy chuckled and shrugged.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a pretty momentous moment, darling.” Pansy said with a smirk as she held Hermione’s injured hand up to her lips and kissed it softly.  She had a terrifying moment of realization that she would probably do anything for the girl beside her now, but that was an issue to deal with later.  Hermione sighed and looked over at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but-.” Pansy interrupted her by placing a quick kiss on her cheek and resting her forehead against Hermione’s, trying to ignore the whispers behind them from Lavender and Pavarti.  She hadn’t exactly been planning on outing the side of her personality that came out most when she was around Hermione, but she didn’t exactly have a choice.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Slight references to childhood trauma and manipulation</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pansy had spent the last couple of days after she was in the Gryffindor common room trying to prove that she’d actually changed.  It wasn't as if what Dean said had no factual backing, she’d been a dick in the past.  But that was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>past </span>
  </em>
  <span>and trying to prove herself was beginning to weigh on her patience a bit, so when Daphne blocked her from leaving the dorm it took all of her remaining bits of patience not to snap at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne, you’re in my way.” Pansy said with a slight chuckle.  All feelings of humor and joking left Pansy’s body when she saw the look on Daphne’s face.  She’d only seen it once before and that was when Draco outed her, so she didn’t exactly have high hopes for this conversation at all.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… yeah.  Sit down.” Daphne murmured, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She would pretty much do anything to avoid another uncomfortable conversation that Daphne had to initiate.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph… the last time you did that, I was outed.  Now come on, I need to get to class.”  Pansy said, running a hand through her hair. Daphne chewed on her lip and sighed, not moving out of the way. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not going to class today, in fact you shouldn’t leave the dorm today.”  She said, and Pansy sighed and crossed her arms.  She’d best have a damn good reason, or else Pansy was not above hexing her to make her move.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Pansy asked and Daphne looked like she was going to be sick just from saying whatever she had to say.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… it’s your father?”  Daphne said, almost sounding like a question.  What the hell was that supposed to mean?  Pansy’s father really couldn’t be bothered to do anything about her, especially not after he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>willingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>disowned her over something she couldn’t change, right?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about him?  It’s not like he-.”  Daphne looked at her with an intense amount of seriousness and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy he’s <em>here</em>.”  Daphne said, and Pansy felt her heart drop into her stomach.  Her father hadn’t even come onto campus when she was almost expelled fourth year for hexing a student so badly that they went unconscious, what brought him here now?<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!”  Pansy said, her voice coming out in a bit of a squeak.  Daphne nodded and crossed her arms as she spoke.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apparently he heard about you punching Goyle during the party when he was being an ass to Hermione, and he’s on the warpath.”  Daphne explained, and Pansy’s eyes darkened.  She would her father push her around in any way he wanted, she was used to that.  But hell would have to freeze over before she let him lay a finger on Hermione.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Move.”  She said firmly, and Daphne sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.  Pansy knew that Daphne wanted to wait it out, wait until her father just got bored or annoyed and left, but she couldn’t do that right now.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you shouldn’t.”  Daphne said, obviously trying to sound gentle.  Pansy shook her head and tried to go past her again, only to get stopped.  She rested her head on Daphne’s shoulder for a moment and let out a shaky sigh.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He could hurt her.” Pansy said quietly, and she could tell Daphne was conflicted.  Of course Daphne knew that was true, she’d been around Pansy’s family long enough to understand what </span>
  <span>happened to people they didn’t like.  They disappeared.  Pansy would <em>not </em>let that happen to Hermione, not today.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Pansy-.”  Pansy lifted her head up and steeled her gaze, setting her jaw like she used to before she helped Draco harass someone so they could stay on top.  The gaze felt wrong now, like putting on a slightly too big costume.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Daphne, I love you but if you don’t move <b><em>right</em></b> now I will move you.”  Pansy said, her teeth gritted.  She knew exactly what would happen to Hermione if her father was able to find her, and she didn’t think that she could handle watching her girlfriend get tortured this early in the morning, it seemed like a bit much.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.  But I’m coming with you.”  Daphne finally said, moving aside and Pansy nodded.  Having backup wasn’t a bad idea, especially against someone like her father.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great, the more the merrier.”  She mumbled, and they stormed out of the dorm, running up the stairs of the dungeon.  If he was in the courtyard then-.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!”  She heard her voice get called and turned around to see Draco running at her, stopping just short of plowing her over.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, where is he?”  Pansy asked, gripping the front of Draco’s shirt.  He pulled her hands off and sighed, his eyebrows knitted together.  He looked like he’d been running around the castle, searching for something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apparently he’s storming around the courtyard, he floo’d into Dumbledore’s office and demanded after you, and Dumbledore didn’t give the answers he wanted, so he’s on a… well, a witch hunt.”  Draco mumbled and any other day, Pansy might find that pun funny, but today was not a good day for that.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco if he finds her-.”  Draco cut her off by raising his hand up and sighed.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, come on.  Daphne, keep your wand drawn, you know better.”  He snapped and Pansy elbowed his ribs and glared.  While he was <em>right </em>there was a better way to say that instead of sounding like an angry dad.  They started sprinting to the courtyard where Pansy’s father was standing, back turned to them, and wand out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“FATHER.”  She yelled out, and he turned around, a fake smile on his face. Oh this was not going to end well.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  How nice of you to show up.” Her father said, his voice oozing with fake happiness.  Pansy felt her skin begin to crawl.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?  If I remember correctly, I’m not in your family anymore, so why do you care?”  Pansy snapped and her father chuckled and shook his head.  But as far as Pansy knew, being disowned meant you didn’t <em>have </em>a family anymore, so why was he here?<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just because you are disgraced you think you can go flouncing around with some little mudblood whore and it won’t get back to me?”  Her father sneered and Pansy felt her anger roar up inside of her as she tried to take a step closer to her father, only to be held back by Daphne holding one arm and Draco holding the other.  They were obviously doing it to protect her, all three of them knew what happened when someone ‘disobeyed’ as much as Pansy had this year.  Pansy gritted her teeth and glared into her father’s face.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Don’t </em>call her that!”  Pansy snapped, tightening her grip on her wand so much that it was a wonder it didn’t break.  Sure, she was terrified of her father but that wasn’t going to stop her from protecting her girlfriend.  Her dad <em>tsked </em>and shook his head, looking far more disappointed then the situation warranted.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever happened to you?”  He asked, his voice very blase as he spoke.  Pansy sneered and shook herself out of Daphne and Draco’s grasp.  She was going to handle this on her own if she had to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I fucking woke up.” Pansy growled and her father sighed and took a step closer to her, which prompted all three of them to step back quickly.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn't you, Pansy.  That filthy little mudblood is corrupting you.”  He said softly, reaching out to put a hand on Pansy’s shoulder.  Hearing her father say that again in relation to someone who made her <em>happy</em>, someone who hadn’t done anything to their family had Pansy reacting in a moment.  She knocked her father’s hand back and pressed the tip of her wand to his chest.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you, don’t call her that.”  She said through clenched teeth and her father chuckled and pushed the wand back down, clearly not taking her seriously.  She’d always hated that about him, it was like he thought that since she wasn’t a boy, she was not worth being wary of.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My my, pulling your wand on your own father?”  He asked, the amusement showing through his voice and Pansy sneered.  She’d never realized just how much she hated her father until right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You're not my father anymore.  You haven’t been for <em>months </em>now, so don’t storm in here acting like you give even half a shit about me!”  Pansy said, hating how her voice gave away her emotion more and more with every word.  Her father’s fake smile turned easily to a look of mild disgust.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said I cared about you, child.  I care about the <em>mockery </em>you’ve made of my name.  The Malfoy’s have broken off your engagement with Draco out of shame.”  Her father sneered and Pansy fought a chuckle.  No, she thought their engagement would continue after people realized she was<em> gay </em>and never going to provide them with a Malfoy heir.  Right.  Yeah, that made perfect sense.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Figured that was the case from the second you sent me that howler.  But I <em>don’t care</em> about any of that!”  Pansy insisted, and her father sniffed and looked away, like he didn’t believe she could be happy without the confines of her old family.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll be miserable.  Poor and low class-.”  She cut her father off and scoffed. Did he genuinely think she’d rather deny who she was and be rich over having the freedom to be herself and have genuine happiness?  Maybe at the beginning of the school year, yeah.  But a lot had changed since then.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather die unknown and have <em>nothing </em>and get to be with her then have all the money I could want without her.”  Pansy insisted, and it scared her how much she meant that.  How much she <em>wanted </em>to be with her in the future.  She’d never really seen a future for herself, and certainly not with someone but… it didn’t seem so bad.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just some girl.  This phase will pass-.”  Pansy gritted her teeth and shook her head.  She was already so fucking done, how had she dealt with this for damn near 17 years and <em>not </em>killed anyone?<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not a fucking <em>phase</em>!”  Pansy snapped, and her father chuckled and shook his head, his condescending tone just oozing out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re such a silly, naive girl.”  He said, and Pansy chuckled darkly and shook her head.  Any hint of being naive she had had been yanked away from her this year, and he should <em>know </em>that.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m far from either of those things.”  She said, and her father <em>tsked </em>and shook his head before speaking again.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Defiant too.  It’s almost as if you’ve forgotten all the manners we spent so long teaching you.”  He said, and this actually made Pansy laugh.  All her parents had taught her was how to fear people and how to hate.  Those weren’t exactly things she wanted to hold onto anymore.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You taught me <em>nothing</em>.”  She said through gritted teeth, and her father had apparently had enough of his faux nice act because he reached out and grabbed her jaw and wrenched her head painfully up to look at her as he pressed the tip of his wand to her forehead.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to learn to shut your <em>fucking</em> mouth.  And I know the perfect way.  <em>CRU-.</em>” Pansy flinched, ready for the pain to set in, but before her father could finish the incantation, something interrupted her.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO!  <em>PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!” </em>Pansy heard Draco roar from behind her, and she watched the binding spell take root on her father as he fell to the ground.  She sighed in relief and turned around to where Draco was still standing, wand forward, chest heaving with Daphne trying to pull him back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, you shouldn’t have-.”  Pansy started, but Draco held up his hand to silence her, his features cold and hard.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I wanted to do <em>a lot </em>worse.  It’s odd that she’s not here yet, right?  Granger’s normally so punctual.”  He said and then it dawned on Pansy.  Father never went anywhere alone, he always brought along at least one other person.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit…”  She mumbled and Draco’s eyebrow shot up.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  He asked, and Pansy sighed, running a hand through her hair.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco… are you 100% sure that it’s <em>just </em>my father?”  Pansy asked and Draco raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before it clicked and the dread spread over his features.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No.”  He whispered and Pansy swallowed heavily and shook her head.  Her mother wouldn’t hurt someone just because her father said to, would she?<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She probably wouldn’t-.”  Daphne started but Draco shook his head grimly and looked down.  Pansy felt about moments from throwing up, because her mother would basically do whatever she was instructed to.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never know.  We never know.”  Pansy said quietly and before she could say anything more she heard a voice ring out behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“PANSY!”  She tensed when she heard Hermione shout.  Honestly, she was a little afraid to turn around, scared of what she’d see because nothing was out of the realm of possibility.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione?  HERMIONE!”  Pansy shouted when she saw her mother holding Hermione with an arm around her neck and a wand to her temple.  Pansy ran over, stopping short when her mother pressed the wand harder against Hermione’s temple, making her wince.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, darling.  Don’t come any closer, I don’t want to have to hex your little <em>girlfriend</em>.  Where’s your father?”  She asked, and Pansy felt sick from how calmly her mother said that.  How can you be <em>calm </em>about almost torturing a child?<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a bit… <em>tied up </em>at the moment.  Mother, let her go.  This is between us, not her and you know that.”  Pansy said, willing her voice to stay steady and miraculously it did.  Her mother let out a little chuckle and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but from what I’ve heard she’s rather skilled.  Wouldn’t want to put myself in harm's way.” Her mother said, as if that </span>
  <em>
    <span>justified </span>
  </em>
  <span>having her wand jabbed into a teenager’s face.  Pansy sighed held out her hand.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, love.  Give me your wand.”  Pansy said, not taking her eyes off of her mother.  She wouldn’t until that wand was off of Hermione’s temple, she didn’t want to give her mother the chance to do anything.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No that’s ridiculous.”  Hermione protested.  Pansy ficked up her eyebrow and held out her hand again.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Give me your wand</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Now, please.”  Pansy said firmly and Hermione seemed to pause at the change of tone but nodded.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.  Here.”  Hermione said, and she dug it out of her robe and threw it over to Pansy, who quickly tucked it away and looked back at her mother.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There, mother.  She’s not a threat to you without it.  So </span>
  <em>
    <span>let her go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said through clenched teeth, and her mother seemed to be thinking for a moment before she nodded.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s fair.”  She said, and released her grip on Hermione’s neck, shoving her forward.  Hermione stopped short of going to stand with Daphne and Draco and stood adjacent to Pansy for a moment, which was making her tense.  She didn’t want her mother getting any ideas from Hermione’s vulnerable state.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.”  Hermione started, but Pansy shook her head.  She wasn’t going to let anyone get caught in the middle of </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>mess.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not now, stand with Draco and Daphne.”  Pansy said, not taking her eyes off of her mother.  Hermione had turned her back fully to the woman and Pansy knew her mother well enough to know that she would take a cheap shot if she really needed to get something done.  Hermione cupped Pansy’s cheek for a moment and Pansy willed herself not to lean into the touch or look into her eyes, it wasn’t safe for either of them.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans-.”  Hermione tried, but Pansy put a gentle hand on top of the one on her cheek and pushed it down, taking a deep breath.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need to handle this.  Alone.”  Pansy said softly, daring a quick glance at Hermione, who had an undetectable look in her eyes as she nodded and went behind Pansy.  Her mother smiled widely, looking Pansy in the eyes again.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, dear.  Are we going to talk like grown ups?”  She asked and Pansy forced a fake smile and cleared her throat, standing up a bit straighter.  She could play her parents game, or at least appear like she knew how.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But of course, mother.  For starters:  Why are you and father tracking me and my friends down?”  Pansy asked, and this made her mother cackle and shake her head before answering.  Merlin, no wonder people thought they were crazy.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Oh no, we only came after you.  They’ve just gotten in the way.”  Her mother explained and Pansy scoffed.  What a sad attempt at fake empathy, Pansy thought.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  Why come after me </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Pansy asked, her eyes narrowing.  No matter what came out of her mothers mouth, she wasn’t in a position that she planned on believing it.  Her mother sighed and examined her nails as she spoke.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, we’ve condemned this lifestyle once already, and I honestly thought that would be enough for you to come to your senses and go back to how you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be.  This… this isn’t natural.”  Her mother said, her voice coming out sickly sweet.  Okay so maybe she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>believe that. Pansy hated how she was able to do that with such damaging language, it oughta be illegal.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s more natural than forcing me to marry someone I don’t love.  Oh!  No offense, Dray.”  Pansy said, and she felt a cold hand lightly squeeze her shoulder before Draco spoke.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“None taken, the feeling is mutual.”  Draco said from behind her and Pansy nodded.  Her mother looked positively ill at what was just said, and Pansy could not tell what she was thinking was said in that conversation besides 'I don't want to marry Draco Malfoy.'</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you saying you </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>that… lowlife?” Her mother sneered, and Pansy scoffed and crossed her arms.  First off, that was not what she had said, and second off, how was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione </span>
  </em>
  <span>the lowlife in this situation?  Her mother was completely willing to injure and possibly </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill</span>
  </em>
  <span> her own daughter’s girlfriend because she didn’t agree with how she was living.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could.  We haven't been together long enough to know for sure, but if given the time I believe I could love her deeply if she would have me.  See, mother, she cares about me, she… she actually likes me.”  Pansy said, her voice barely coming out above a whisper.  She could feel Hermione’s gaze practically going through her, but she wasn’t going to be stupid enough to turn her back on her mother, whose wand was still partially drawn, just to see the </span>
  <span>other girl’s reaction to her words.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No she doesn’t, darling, we do.”  Her mother said, and Pansy could pick up on the faux-caring tone her mother tried to have as she reached out and touched Pansy’s hand gently.  She yanked it back and glared heavily at her mother, wondering for just a moment what had led her to being like this.  Certainly she couldn’t have been born this way, could she?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>cared about me.  You care about your </span>
  <em>
    <span>money </span>
  </em>
  <span>and your </span>
  <em>
    <span>status</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Hell, you’re hardly your own person, you just do whatever father wants you to!”  Pansy said, her voice getting steadily louder until she was all but yelling the last word, and she saw the anger flare in her mother’s eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop being defiant!”  Her mother roared and Pansy flinched back for a moment before taking a deep breath. She could do this, she <em>had </em>to do this, for her own good.  She straightened back up and returned her mother’s glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not being defiant!  You two </span>
  <em>
    <span>disowned </span>
  </em>
  <span>me, broke me down and now… now you’re trying to say that you’re the ones who </span>
  <em>
    <span>care</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!  You’ve got to be fucking kidding me… You know what a normal mother would do when their child finds happiness?”  Pansy asked, hating how her voice broke on the last sentence.  There was a small gasp behind her, but she didn’t even care to notice it.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.”  Daphne tried, but Pansy held up a hand blindly and kept staring her mother down as she spoke.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’d be </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy</span>
  </em>
  <span>… I don’t even expect that from you, I just expect you to leave me and my </span>
  <em>
    <span>girlfriend </span>
  </em>
  <span>alone.”  Pansy said, willing her voice to come out steady.  Before any more could be said, she felt two arms slide under her armpits and lock her in place, and she could smell the Firewhiskey on her father’s breath as he chuckled.  Apparently Daphne’s hex wasn’t very strong.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, now, darling.  We’re doing what’s best for you… we can make you forget all about your little girlfriend.”  Her father whispered and she felt his wand tap on her shoulder and her eyes widened at what he meant.  They were planning to obliviate her, obliviate any memory of anything they didn’t agree with.  She struggled against him.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father </span>
  <em>
    <span>let me go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She insisted, but his grip only got tighter.  She didn’t want to lose what little progress she’d been able to make with herself.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re doing this for your own good.”  He said, and Pansy tried to struggle against him, but he managed to clamp an arm around her neck and the other tightened around her two wrists.  She was stuck.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She tried again but he shushed her quietly.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh.  Just relax.”  He said, his voice sounding disgustingly calm as he pressed his wand to Pansy’s temple.  Far too calm for a man who was going to wipe his own daughter’s memory away just to protect his fucking reputation and his assets.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She heard Daphne whisper, and her father’s hand slipped off her as he crumpled to the ground.  Pansy watched as her mother’s face contorted in anger and she whipped out her wand.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You little </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>! </span>
  <em>
    <span>P-</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Before her mother could finish her incantation Pansy pointed her wand forward and cleared her throat.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Expelliarmus!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She shouted, and her mother's wand flew from her hand.  While she was turned away looking for it, Pansy felt someone clasp onto her shoulder</span>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!”  Hermione called, and Pansy turned around and dug out Hermione’s wand.  If they were going to be dueling, it was probably wise to have to wisest one armed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, catch!”  She said, and threw the wand, which Hermione thankfully caught, Pansy had always had a rubbish arm.  Daphne put a gentle hand on both of their shoulders and glanced between them.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>run.” </span>
  </em>
  <span> Daphne insisted, and on some level, Pansy knew she was right.  Her parents would get bored with her and Draco eventually, but if Pansy and Hermione were to stay, there was no saying how long they’d duel in order to get what they wanted.  Parkinson’s could be rather stubborn.  But Pansy still felt bad leaving them to deal with her dirty laundry.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne-.”  Pansy tried to protest, but Daphne shook her head and squeezed Pansy’s shoulder before shoving her and shielding her with her body.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  You need to get somewhere safe and lay low, Draco and I can handle this.  I’m sure the headmaster’s already on his way.”  Daphne insisted, and she turned back around.  Pansy opened her mouth, but she felt a hand on her shoulder before she could speak again.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s right.”  Hermione said and Pansy looked at her in surprise.  It didn’t exactly seem normal for someone who was a Gryffindor to back down from a fight.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione-.”  She started, but the other witch shook her head.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, come on.”  Hermione insisted, and grabbed Pansy’s hand.  They didn’t stop sprinting until they reached the wall of the room of requirement where they skidded to a stop.  This was a smart idea, Pansy knew that, but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>also </span>
  </em>
  <span>knew that neither Draco nor Daphne knew where this was.  But before she could point that out, Hermione was speaking.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need a </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe place</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione commanded, and the door appeared.  She was quick to yank Pansy inside and close it behind her, both of them collapsing against the wall and taking a few deep breaths.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do we know they won’t find us in here?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione gave her a strange look and a reassuring smile.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I made sure the door is gone.”  Hermione said, and Pansy let her shoulders sag.  This was all her fault, if she had just done what they’d said in the first place no one else would be caught up in this.  She’d be </span>
  <em>
    <span>miserable </span>
  </em>
  <span>but at least her friends wouldn’t have to fight her battles.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione I’m so-.”  Hermione cut her off with a quick kiss before pulling Pansy’s head to rest on her.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t.  Don’t apologize for them, you didn’t do any of that.”  Hermione said firmly, running her fingers through Pansy’s hair as she spoke.  Pansy closed her eyes and sighed, relaxing further against Hermione’s chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>my fault.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione scoffed and shook her head, looking at Pansy with an odd sort of adoration.  Pansy couldn’t imagine why, there was nothing </span>
  <em>
    <span>to </span>
  </em>
  <span>adore about her.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re joking, right?  They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>crazy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they’re acting completely unhinged, and frankly… if that’s anywhere near what you had to deal with when you were living at home… it’s a wonder you’re not more fucked up.”  Hermione joked, and Pansy chuckled and shoved her shoulder lightly.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!”  Pansy said, but there was a small smile on her face.  She had </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea how Hermione had been able to make her smile right now, but she didn’t mind it.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m only being honest.  Your mother managed to find me in the middle of a hallway.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>tracked me down</span>
  </em>
  <span>, which I’m shocked about because she didn’t even know what I looked like… that’s insane.”  Hermione said, shaking her head.  Pansy had to agree, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>insane, even for her family.  She didn’t know that something she was doing while she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>disowned </span>
  </em>
  <span>and not connected to her family could piss them off so much.  Honestly, this might be the most attention they’d ever given her, and that thought made her a little bit dizzy.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we just… can we sit down?  I'm feeling a little off right now.”  Pansy asked quietly and Hermione nodded and slid to the ground, holding out her arms.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah of course.”  She said and Pansy let herself fall into them, she let her head tuck into Hermione’s neck for a moment, and she just… took a breath.  Hermione’s perfume still managed to hit her the same every time.  And then she remembered that some things had been… said, and Pansy lifted her head and sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione we should talk about-.”  She started and Hermione chewed on her lip and shook her head.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have to-.”  Pansy cut her off.  She <em>wanted </em>to talk about it, which had never really happened organically before.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I meant it.”  Pansy said quickly and Hermione was silent for a moment, as if she was taken by surprise.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which part?  There was a lot that was said.”  Hermione said carefully, but Pansy knew that she knew exactly what was being referred to, and she wasn’t sure if that scared her more or less.  Pansy took a deep breath before she spoke.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I meant the part where… I could see myself loving you.  Obviously it’ll take time, I’m not exactly an open book but… you make me want to open up, you make me want to… figure out how to do that.”  Pansy said, her voice hardly above a whisper.  She felt Hermione’s hand trailing up and down her arm and she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to slow her heartbeat a bit.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do what?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy swallowed on a dry throat.  This conversation could go a million different ways right now, Hermione could turn her down completely, but on the other hand...<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love someone…. Love <em>you</em>.”  Pansy admitted, trying to ignore the feeling of nausea that washed over her.  She’d never been that vulnerable with anyone, and a scary part of her knew that she never wanted to be that way with anyone except <em>her</em>.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy…”  Hermione said, trailing off into silence.  Oh great, she was freaked out, Pansy should have known.  She tensed herself in preparation for Hermione’s rejection of her and glanced over.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  Pansy murmured, not wanting to fully look at her.  Hermione reached over and grabbed Pansy’s tie, prompting her to look over at Hermione.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kiss me.”  Hermione whispered, tightening her fingers around Pansy’s tie and pulling her a little bit closer.  Pansy hesitated because… what if they <em>did </em>manage to find her?  What horrible thing would they do if they caught her <em>actually </em>kissing a girl.  But on the other side of that same coin; what if this is the last time she <em>gets </em>to kiss her girlfriend?  Pansy had no idea what her parent’s limits were today.  That thought was enough to have Pansy close the slight gap between them, kissing Hermione with fervor, swallowing Hermione’s slight gasp.  She brought her hands down to rest on the other witch’s waist and pulled her closer, feeling her body start to relax.  Some part of Pansy’s brain screamed that she was too comfortable with Hermione, too ready to let go, too safe.  If she was being honest, she’d never felt comfort and safety like she felt with Hermione.  Like yes, she had Daphne and Tracey but it wasn’t ever the same, they made fun of each other and joked around but… something about Hermione made her want to drop some of her walls.  Pansy felt Hermione’s tongue tentatively run across her lips and she shivered as she let her mouth open enough to allow Hermione’s tongue to slip inside.  The feeling in and of itself was amazing, indescribable.  She wasn’t sure how Hermione was so good at this, as far as she knew the other witch had only kissed Ron, <em>maybe </em>Krum at the yule ball but she doubted that would’ve gone beyond a chaste kiss, Victor just didn’t seem the type.  Hermione pulled back, and Pansy missed it almost immediately and went to lean back in, but was stopped by Hermione’s hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Not that I don’t enjoy what we were just doing, believe me I do… I just need to have </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>of my wits about me in case your parents do manage to find us… even though I said they couldn’t, you can never be too sure.”  Hermione said, her words coming out a little bit breathless.  Pansy wanted to protest, wanted to say it would be fine, but that was just the kiss clouding her brain.  She sighed and leaned away, nodding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right… unfortunately.”  Pansy murmured and rested her head on Hermione’s shoulder.  The other witch chuckled and laced their hands together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you seem to be in a better mood.”  Hermione observed and Pansy nodded.  She <em>was </em>a little calmer than she had been.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s difficult to be in a bad mood when you have a pretty girl with you.”  Pansy said, and Hermione smiled at that and looked up at the ceiling.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  She murmured and Pansy nodded.<br/>
“Mhm.”  She said and they were silent for a few moments, just enjoying the fact that they could be together right now, even if they <em>may </em>have to deal with what happened later.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?” Hermione finally asked and Pansy lifted her head and looked over at her.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  She responded and Hermione took a moment, probably to think up the right way to say what she wanted to say.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you… I mean, why <em>didn’t </em>you just do what they said?  Don’t you miss any of it?”  She asked, and Pansy thought for a moment.  She knew she should, she should miss her parents and her home and the luxury but when she thought back on it she felt… oddly disconnected.  She supposed your parents almost Obliviating you to absolve themselves from dealing with the fact that they’d lost any chance at an heir would do that to a person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Pansy said, but Hermione didn’t seem to believe her.  She shifted to look fully at Pansy and rested back on her hands.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s got to be a lie.”  She said, and Pansy shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not.  You see, when I was a part of my parent’s world, I was cold, closed minded, and I was never going to be myself.  Like yeah, I’m still a bit of an asshole now, but I’m able to be myself and… the <em>traumatic </em>way that I got kicked out of my family led me on a better path.  It led me to becoming okay with myself a little bit… it led me to you.”  Pansy said, feeling her face get hot as a smile spread across Hermione’s face<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as I’m not the only reason you wouldn’t go back.”  Hermione said, and Pansy shook her head.  While she was <em>great</em>, Hermione was far from the only reason she was glad to be free of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Merlin no, I refused to go back because I don’t want to be that person anymore.  Obviously I love being with you but that's only a part of what I love about slowly becoming my own person, you know?”  She asked, and Hermione nodded, seeming to be satisfied with that answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Hey… I just realized that Daphne and Draco have no idea where this is, so we aren’t going to know when your parents finally get kicked out of here.”  Hermione said and Pansy shrugged.  She knew of one way Draco could figure it out.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Draco could just ask Harry-.”  Pansy stopped herself as her eyes widened.  Obviously she’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>slightly </span>
  </em>
  <span>caught herself, but she’d still said something that could really hint at what was going on.  Hermione raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would he do that?”  Hermione asked and Pansy swallowed nervously and tried to think up a </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>stupid reason for that interaction to occur.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well...Because you two are best friends, obviously he’ll be able to deduce where we went.”  Pansy said, the words rushing out.  It was believable </span>
  <em>
    <span>enough</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“.... Right.” Hermione said, obviously not convinced, so Pansy did her best to change the subject<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… if we get out of this, I’ll try my best to keep my insane family as far away from you as possible.”  Pansy muttered, a small smile making its way onto her face.  Hermione nodded and ran her thumb across Pansy’s jaw softly.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds <em>perfect</em>.”  Hermione whispered, and pressed a quick kiss to Pansy’s lips before resting her head on the other girl’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a super short chapter I just didn't want to go to bed and leave it at a weird spot for the night</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Obviously Pansy knew it was stupid to leave her friends out there, it was stupid and it was an amature move but she didn’t need to add fighting with Daphne to the list of things that were happening.  She paced up and down the Slytherin common room, ignoring people’s comments about it being distracting or irritating and just tried to clear her head, that is until the entrance swung open and Daphne and Draco walked in.  Pansy let out a sigh of relief and strode across the room, pulling Daphne into a hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>glad you’re okay.”  Pansy whispered against her hair and she heard Draco scoff next to Daphne and pulled back in time to see him roll his eyes.  Merlin, this fucking boy is </span>
  <em>
    <span>such </span>
  </em>
  <span>a drama queen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and I’m okay too, by the way.”  He said, and Pansy saw the hint of a smile on his cheeks as she pushed away from Daphne and smacked his arm, not hard enough to bruise but hard enough that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was being irritating right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was getting there, but now I don’t want to be relieved at your survival, Malfoy.”  She joked and Draco rolled his eyes and pulled her into a tight hug, just for a moment before letting her go and sighing.  Pansy realized in that moment that Draco had </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>toned down the cologne, which was a welcome surprise for her sinuses.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up, wanker.”  Draco sighed, and Pansy leaned against the back of one of the couches, crossing her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what happened?”  She asked and Daphne shrugged, leaning next to her before she spoke.  Pansy did notice that she looked a little dazed, and Pansy hoped that neither of her parents had landed anything on her friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, nothing really… Dumbledore was able to show up and he escorted your parents to his office, and he asked us to come along and once he had sent them away, he questioned us about what had happened.”  Daphne explained and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  That didn’t tell her much at all and she was practically buzzing with anticipation.  What had Dumbledore </span>
  <em>
    <span>done </span>
  </em>
  <span>about her parents?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?”  She asked, and Daphne looked at the ground.  Pansy felt a light hand on her shoulder and she looked at Draco.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And your parents won’t be an issue anymore.”  He said gravely and Pansy’s eyebrow shot up.  Had Dumbledore actually had the balls to kill two high ranking purebloods </span>
  <em>
    <span>in his office?  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Now that would be a twist Pansy hadn’t expected.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t mean-.”  She didn’t even get to get her theory out before Draco was shaking his head, his eyes widening a little.  He still could practically read her mind, even though they weren’t joined at the hip anymore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin!  No.  Did you miss the part where he said they left </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>we got in there, of course he didn’t kill them.  He’s just… erased you from their memory.”  Draco explained and Pansy didn’t know why but that made her chest feel hollow.  She’d not felt anything when she thought her parents were dead, but somehow making them forget her was… about a million times harder to grasp.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.”  She said softly, and she must have zoned out for a little while because she felt Daphne’s hand slide across her upper back rubbing it gently.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Pans?  You okay.”  She asked softly and Pansy looked at her.  She wanted to say she wasn’t fine, because that was the truth… but it felt wrong to acknowledge that her parents not knowing who she was was something she wasn’t exactly comfortable with.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I’m fine… it’s weird, I don’t miss them and everything that has happened has made it more obvious that I never want to go back but it is weird to me that… I’m going to be walking around the rest of my life without parents.”  Pansy mumbled, and her true emotions must have shown through because Draco rested his head on her shoulder for a moment in an attempt to comfort her before he spoke again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  But he figured it was the safest way.”  Draco said softly and Pansy nodded.  Just because she understood it didn’t make it any easier.  Her parents were supposed to be there and love her forever… granted they’d never done that but <em>still</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He probably wasn’t wrong, my father isn’t easily deterred.”  Pansy said, and Draco sighed, lifting his head up and running a hand through his hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. And… are you okay?  Is Granger?”  He asked and Pansy sighed and nodded.  She’d walked Herminoe up to the Gryffindor commons herself before coming down here, she knew that she was safe.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re both fine.  We were able to talk about some stuff, clear some things up.  She thought I maybe still missed being who I was before, being a part of that society which, no offense, I’d rather lose every limb from my body then go back there.”  Pansy explained and glanced at both of them, sort of expecting a small look of hurt but she was met with a look of understanding and she let out a quiet sigh of relief.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No offense taken.”  Draco said and Daphne nodded and took her hand, patting the back of it quickly before letting it fall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously not, we understand.”  She murmured and Pansy smiled, resting her head on Daphne’s shoulder for a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson.”  Pansy tensed at the sound of Goyle’s voice, and Daphne brought a hand up to play with Pansy’s hair in order to distract her.  It <em>was </em>rather nice, so she didn’t complain.  There were worse things she could’ve done, like hexed her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ignore him.”  Daphne instructed, and Pansy nodded.  She had every intention to do just that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Parkinson.  </em>I’m talking to you.”  Goyle snapped and Pansy sighed.  She apparently had a very short resolve today.  She turned around and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, Gregory?”  She asked and Goyle smirked and narrowed his eyes slightly before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you enjoy the surprise today?  Thought you might like to see your parents again.  Shocked you still have your memory.” He spat, and Pansy did flinch away at that because the thought of her dad just wiping her mind clean of any memory of Hermione scared the shit out of her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, your plan backfired because you jumped the gun.”  Pansy said, and Goyle looked incredibly confused.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?”  He asked, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  Some people were so dumb, and forgot that sometimes the best revenge is none at all… or very slight revenge rationed over time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could’ve drawn all of this out for a long time if you were smart.  Had my parents sending me howlers and making me feel like shit for weeks, but you got over excited and decided to drop the big bomb on them: I punched you to protect my <em>muggle </em>girlfriend, because you knew it would bring my dad to campus.”  Pansy said, and Goyle raised an eyebrow.  It wasn’t sinking in yet, that was okay.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?  I’m not seeing the part where it backfired.”  Goyle said and Pansy narrowed her eyes and chuckled, so ready to ruin his world.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dumbledore wiped their minds as a preventive measure.  Meaning you hold <em>no </em>power over me, Gregory.”  Pansy explained and Goyle paled and shook his head, looking like he might just faint then and there.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That can’t be-.”  Pansy held up a finger to quiet him and smirked before she continued talking.  She was so ready to make him realize just how screwed he was without the one little thing he had over her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but it is.  Watch your back, Greg.  Karma can be a real bitch.  C’mon Daph, I’m tired.”  Pansy said, grabbing the other girl by her wrist and pulling her to the dorms before Goyle even had </span>
  <span>the chance to respond.  Once they were inside the dorm it was silent, and Tracey and Millicent looked up from their homework.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened to you guys today?!”  Tracey asked and Pansy let out a heavy sigh and shrugged.  Where to begin?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My parents happened.”  Pansy said, her voice coming out flat.  Millicent snorted and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well obviously, we know that.  Are you okay?” She asked, and Pansy didn’t know the answer to that.  Was she really okay?  Luckily, Daphne seemed to notice her hesitation and jumped in to answer for the both of them.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah we’re fine overall.  Plus, Pansy is officially a free woman.”  Daphne said, a little halfheartedly, and Tracey raised her eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  She asked and Pansy nodded, really not wanting to go through all of it right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dumbledore Obliviated both of them, meaning… I essentially have no parents.”  Pansy explained and both girls nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a marked improvement over what you <em>did</em> have.”  Millicent muttered under her breath, and Tracey hit her lightly with her textbook and glared.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Millie!”  Tracey hissed and Pansy shook her head.  Millicent hadn’t been wrong in saying that or implying that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she’s not wrong.  My parents were… awful now that I think back on it.  My mother was a puppet and my father was angry all the time.  I’m glad I don’t have to deal with their bullshit anymore.”  Pansy explained, and that part was true, 100%.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should toast to that-.”  Daphne cleared her throat and shook her head quickly, dispelling any idea of doing that right now.  It was a good idea, Pansy really wasn’t in a place where she should be drinking, and she certainly didn’t want to be toasting right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not tonight, Tracey.  Maybe tomorrow.”  She said, and Pansy was grateful that Daphne understood and quickly squeezed her hand.  Tracey nodded and leaned back on her palms before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Right.  You two should get some sleep, we’ll be quiet.”  Tracey said, turning back to Millicent.  Honestly, Pansy didn’t know if they were loud enough, she collapsed on her bed and fell into a practically dreamless sleep for the night.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy was walking to class the next morning when she felt someone smack her upside the head and she turned around to see a very annoyed Harry Potter.  She winced and rubbed the back of her head as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ow!  What the hell was that for, Potter?”  She hissed and Harry set his jaw and leaned against the wall as he spoke.  His upset was very clear even before he opened his mouth and Pansy genuinely didn’t know what she’d done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For letting my boyfriend go headfirst into a shitstorm yesterday!  And for whatever you said to Hermione because she was acting </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>weird when she got back to the common room last night and I know that was your doing.”  Oh.  That’s right.  She’d led her friend into what was basically a firefight and then almost outed him within the same fucking hour. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I almost mentioned that you and Draco were together.”  Pansy mumbled and Harry’s eyes widened as he glanced around the hallway.  It would be totally fair if he hexed her for that one, she would do the same if she were in his shoes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  He hissed but Pansy held up her hand to keep him quiet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I caught myself before it happened, relax.  She might be suspicious for a day or two and then it’ll blow over, I swear.”  Pansy insisted, and his anger seemed to subdue a little bit after that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It had better.  So… are you okay?  Hermione mentioned it was pretty heavy.”  Harry asked, his tone immediately softening and Pansy sighed.  How was she even supposed to answer that question right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, my parents almost obliviated me, I got called a disgrace again, basically a disappointment, and now my parents don’t even remember who I am so…”  She trailed off and Harry raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?”  He asked and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She couldn’t lie to him right now, unfortunately.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  No, I’m pretty fucking far from okay.  But that’s… thats fine, because I’m better than I was, you know?”  Pansy asked and she in some part of her mind knew that if </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>was going to get what she was saying it was going to be Harry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I get that… kind of.”  He said and she smiled slightly and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, golden boy, we’re gonna be late to potions.”  She said and he sighed and nodded.  They’d both forgotten to check the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit, you’re right.”  He said, and they all but ran the rest of the way down to the dungeon and once they were there Pansy collapsed next to Hermione, who rubbed a hand across her upper back lightly and smiled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… barely here before class… I guess I’ll excuse it given our day yesterday.”  Hermione said with a slight chuckle.  Pansy lifted her head up and looked over at Hermione for a second.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My parents no longer know who I am.”  She said quietly and Hermione raised an eyebrow, as if the thought of an obliviate actually getting used was surprising to her.  Pansy was just surprised it hadn’t ended up being her on the receiving end.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which one of them did that?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged.  Not one of the two they’d left behind.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dumbledore… apparently he thinks I’ll be safer that way.”  Pansy said, putting air quotes around the word ‘safe’ and Hermione chuckled and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s probably right… doesn’t make it any easier.”  She said and Pansy looked at her with fondness in her eyes because that was the first person to immediately recognize that this was going to be a hard transition no matter <em>what </em>her relationship had been with her family.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But at least that way they won’t hurt me anymore.  Or try to hurt you.”  Pansy pointed out, and Hermione nodded, closing a hand around Pansy’s on the table.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is a fair point.  So… do you want to talk about it or-.”  Pansy cut her off with a quick shake of her head.  She just wanted to figure out how she was supposed to move past this and act like everything was fine again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think for once I actually want to focus on potions.”  She said and Hermione smirked and raised an eyebrow, leaning a little closer to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  That is a first for you.” She teased, and Pansy shoved her lightly and chuckled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, anyways-.”  After the class was over, Pansy <em>did </em>actually feel a bit better.  She realized it was probably partially because something about the routine reminded her that things would eventually be okay, even if it wasn’t right now.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was totally fair for Pansy to decide she needed a break from the world for the weekend- <em> especially </em> after the fucking week she’d had.  Not every day that your own father tries to Obliviate you <em> after </em>disowning you, it’s quite tiring if she was being honest.  She was happy to hear that Hermione wanted to spend the weekend with Ron and Harry anyways, so she didn’t feel like she was blowing off her girlfriend.  So far she’d stuck to her plan, she was still sitting in bed, wrapped in a blanket, and trying to go back to sleep.</p><p>“Merlin, are you and Granger fighting or something?”  Daphne asked, rousing Pansy a little more from her attempted slumber.  She lifted the blanket off of her head and squinted up, a little bit confused.</p><p>“What?  No.  I just… needed to spend some time to myself, and she wanted to go to Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron.”  Pansy explained, her voice still raspy from sleep.  Daphne flattened her mouth into a thin line and raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Hm.”  Daphne said, and Pansy sighed and sat all the way up, pushing the hair out of her face.  There goes the sleeping idea.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy sighed and Daphne shrugged and sat down on the edge of Pansy’s bed.  Oh yeah, just sit there <em> without </em> asking.  Pansy hated how much Daphne did that, it just… got on her nerves. </p><p>“You haven’t gotten out of bed, sue me if I’m a little worried!  You’ve had a pretty rough week, I don’t want you becoming a recluse.”  Daphne said, her voice trying to sound caring and gentle, clearly.  It did exactly nothing to quell Pansy’s annoyance.  She huffed and looked at the wall, imagining how it would feel to jinx Daphne.  Just a small one to get her off of her back for a few days.</p><p>“I’m not a fucking recluse!  Merlin, I’m just trying to rest!”  Pansy snapped, and Daphne sighed and stood up, shaking out her hair before pulling it back in a ponytail.</p><p>“Okay well… if you’re staying in, then so am I.”  Daphne said and Pansy opened her mouth to object, but before she could speak, Tracey started booking it towards the door, like she could predict what was going to happen in the next couple of seconds.</p><p>“Well, you two have fun, I’m gonna-.”  Tracey did not get to finish her sentence, or get out of the doorway.</p><p>“Stay here with us?  How sweet of you, Tracey.”  Daphne said, grabbing the back of Tracey’s sweater and pulling her back into the dorm.  Honestly, from the look on Tracey’s face you’d think that Daphne just asked her to take a dive into Black Lake, Pansy mused.  Tracey sighed and ran a hand through her hair before crossing her arms.</p><p>“I had a date-.”  Pansy arched an eyebrow and sat up in her bed, suddenly <em> very </em> interested in this conversation.  She hadn’t even realized Tracey <em> liked </em> anyone… had she really missed that much from not being around as often? </p><p>“Really?”  Pansy asked and Tracey sighed and leaned against the door, looking wistfully at the window.  Honestly, it would be more interesting to look at the wall, nothing cool ever swam past their windows these days.</p><p>“Well… I mean… He said he wanted to hang out in the library-.”  Daphne sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.</p><p>“So you had a <em> study </em> date.”  Daphne clarified and Tracey shrugged, vaguely motioning towards Pansy’s bed. </p><p>“It worked for Pansy and Granger.”  Tracey said, and that made Pansy chuckle because Hermione and her were a… special case.  They had bonded over <em> herbology, </em> it wasn’t exactly some giant love story, hell for half of it Pansy wasn’t even sure if she could stand Hermione or if she never wanted to talk to her again.  She wouldn’t even admit they were <em> friends </em>for the longest time.</p><p>“Yeah, I know.  Still don’t quite know how, I guess my girlfriend thinks I look irresistibly hot when I’m seconds away from stabbing a quill through my eyes from boredom.”  Pansy mumbled, examining her nails.  She looked up and saw the slightly disturbed look on both Tracey and Daphne's face.  What had she said that was so bad?</p><p>“Merlin, Pans.  That was morbid.”  Daphne said, sounding highly uncomfortable.  Pansy was fairly certain that morbid wasn’t <em> exactly </em> the right word for this situation but it was close. </p><p>“What?  That’s not the right… okay, nevermind.  It’s a fair thought, and a true one.  You’d have one too if you were trying to find passages on Amortentia for three hours because your ‘notes weren’t thorough enough’ and you ‘need to try harder if you want to do well on your N.E.W.T.s”  Pansy said, putting air quotes up around certain parts of her sentence.  Daphne shrugged with a small smile on her face.</p><p>“She’s looking out for you, that’s a good thing.”  Daphne said, and Pansy shot her a glare.<br/>“Three <em>hours</em>, Daphne.  She’s lucky she’s cute, I swear to Merlin.”  Pansy groaned, rubbing her eyes.  She was making a bigger deal out of this than it was, that had actually been a pretty good study session,  she just had to bring <em>something </em>to the table.</p><p>“Well, if you didn’t fall for her, I’m sure Weasely gladly would have taken her back.”  Daphne said, sounding completely blase in what she said and <em>not </em>like she was purposely antagonizing her friends.</p><p>“Watch it, Greengrass.  Treading on very thin ice there.”  Pansy warned and Daphne smirked and flicked her eyebrow up.  It was obvious that she knew how much of a prick she was being right now, she just didn’t care.</p><p>“I thought you two were close now, didn’t he stand up for you or something?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy sighed.  All of them had said something to her credi in the dorms that day, not just him.</p><p>“That does not mean we are close, we are <em>tolerating </em>each other.”  Pansy clarified, and a large grin spread across Tracey’s face before she interjected.</p><p>“Right, right.  And his mother just <em>happened </em>to knit you a sweater with your initial on it-.”  Tracey started, and Pansy’s jaw dropped.  That was supposed to be a <em>secret</em>.  She <em>was </em>going to fight with her girlfriend now.</p><p>“Fucking Granger, she promised no one would see that photo.”  Pansy growled and she saw Daphne’s face light up like she’d just found a million galleons. Oh Merlin.</p><p>“Wait, there's a <em>photo</em>?!  I just asked Ginny about what the holiday was like when you were there…. Now I fucking have to see that photo.”  Daphne said, and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  Honesty, if Daphne was determined enough there wasn’t much Pansy could <em>do </em>to stop her at this point.</p><p>“Good luck, it's hanging in Hermione’s dorm, you’ll never see it.”  Pansy sighed, but that did not seem to deter Daphne and Tracey, unfortunately.</p><p>“Oh please, I just have to ask and I’m sure she’d show me.”  Daphne chuckled, and Pansy narrowed her eyes.</p><p>“You’re right but you wouldn’t dare.” Pansy warned and Daphne snorted and shook her head.  Merlin, Pansy wanted to hit her right now.</p><p>“Pansy.  We <em> both </em>know I’d dare.”  Daphne insisted and Pansy rose up off of her bed and straightened up to her full height.  She was just a few inches taller than Daphne and she going to use that to her advantage right now, to look as intimidating as she could.</p><p>“Daphne, I swear to-.”  She started to growl, but Tracey sighed and pushed Pansy shoulder lightly until she was sitting down again and placed the other hand on the other shoulder so she could look her in the eyes.</p><p>“What are you so worried about?  It’s not like it's a nude or something… and even that wouldn’t be a surprise, we’ve shared a dorm for six years.”  Tracey said, so casually that if you weren’t listening closely, it could be thought that she said something totally normal, but it did make Pansy blink in surprise because that was normally how <em>Daphne </em>talked.  But she still had a point to prove.</p><p>“I have bedhead in the photo!  And no makeup!”  Pansy hissed, and Tracey put on a look of faux surprise.</p><p>“Wow, kind of like you do… right now?”  Tracey said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and looked away because while that was a good point, she did not wish to acknowledge that right now.</p><p>“Thats… I…. That’s different!  This is not <em> documented </em> .”  Pansy said and Daphne cleared her throat, taking a step forward to be more involved in the conversation. </p><p>“Something tells me that the photo is like… some sort of treasure.  Like you did something that totally exposed you on the whole ‘liking Granger’ front.” Daphne theorized, and she was wrong, that was not the reason Pansy wanted <em> no one </em> to see it, it was because it was a dreadful fucking photo. </p><p>“Well, if flipping someone off is exposing-.”  Tracey raised an eyebrow at her and leaned a little bit closer.</p><p>“Did you do the thing you do with your eyes?”  Tracey asked and Pansy had <em> no </em> fucking clue what she was referring to right now. </p><p>“What the hell are you talking about?”  Pansy asked, her eyebrows knitted together, and Tracey snorted.</p><p>“Come on, Parkinson, you can’t tell me that you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Tracey said, it was clear she really thought Pansy knew about this elusive thing she <em> apparently </em> did with her eyes. </p><p>“I don’t.”  Pansy insisted, and Tracey sighed and gestured vaguely.</p><p>“The <em> look </em> .  It’s like… this thing you do with your eyes when you think someone’s cute, it’s like your gaze gets all soft and your eyes damn near sparkle… you did it a few times at that Ravenclaw you fancied for a bit last year, and I swear to Merlin it's practically constant at this point when you see Granger.”  She explained and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She didn’t know that she did that, and honestly she didn’t know if she believed Tracey on that one. </p><p>“Okay so if you see it all the time, why do you want to see the photo so bad?”  Pansy asked and Daphne sighed.</p><p>“Well it's never been documented before!  If I’m right, this photo may just be one in a million and I would pay Granger 50 galleons for it just so I could hang it in our dorm <em> just </em> to bother you.”  She said and Pansy rolled her eyes and threw one of her pillows at them, which Tracey caught and threw back. </p><p>“Merlin, you two are such wankers!”  Pansy huffed, and Daphne grinned and shrugged, reaching over to pat Pansy’s cheek.  She did <em> not </em> do that because Pansy caught her wrist and shoved her hand away. </p><p>“Now, that’s just always been the case, don’t act like it's so surprising.”  Daphne said with a smile and Pansy rolled her eyes.</p><p>“I swear-.”  Pansy started and Daphne sighed and turned around to quiet her.</p><p>“Just go back to sleep, Parkinson.  Tracey and I have to talk about… something.”  Daphne said, her voice betraying that it was something that Pansy was not going to appreciate, but it wasn’t like Daphne was going to give up why, so why bother with that.  Plus… she <em>did </em>want to take a nap.</p><p>“Would you-.”  Pansy started, but Tracey cut her off before she could finish her statement.</p><p>“Wake you up for dinner?  Of course.”  Tracey said, giving her a quick smile.  Pansy <em>was </em>feeling dubious as she laid back down, but as soon as her eyes drooped she couldn’t quite remember why.</p><hr/><p>Pansy should have known that Tracey and Daphne were being far too nice when they woke her up, no names, no expletives, just a kind wake up call… it hadn’t sunk in until they got to the Great Hall that that was extremely out of character.  Pansy cast a wary glare on the two girls as they approached their table.</p><p>“What are you two planning?”  Pansy asked, and they both did their best to look completely innocent.  Pansy didn’t trust <em> that </em> for one second. </p><p>“Nothing, Pansy.  Don’t be paranoid.” Daphne insisted and Pansy snorted and shook her head.  Like she was being <em> paranoid </em> for knowing that how they were acting was extremely odd. </p><p>“I’m not being paranoid, I just know you two… and you were being far too nice for my liking.”  Pansy sighed, taking a bite of her salad.  Daphne put on a look of hurt that Pansy was <em> sure </em> was trying to look genuine but it failed miserably. </p><p>“Wow, I’m hurt.  We can’t be nice now without you suspecting us of something?  Like really-.”  Tracey smacked her arm and shushed her.</p><p>“Daphne, shut up!  Granger just came in.”  Tracey hissed, and Pansy’s fork clattered on her plate.  Shit.  They were going to ask about the picture <em> here. </em> In <em> public </em> . </p><p>“Ooo perfect.  Granger!”  Daphne called, and Pansy tried to bat her arm down, but of course Hermione heard her and walked over to the table.  Damn it.</p><p>“Yes, Greengrass?”  Hermione asked, and Daphne put on a smile that could have easily been on a hyena.  Yeah, because <em> that </em> is going to put someone at ease. </p><p>“Sit here today.”  Daphne said, patting across the table to the seat next to Pansy.  Hermione looked confused as to why she might do that.</p><p>“Why would I-.”  Tracey cleared her throat and cut Hermione off.</p><p>“Sit <em> down </em> .”  She insisted and Hermione rolled her eyes and slid into the seat next to Pansy, letting one of her hands hang at her side. </p><p>“Merlin, okay.  What?  What’s up?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy slid her hand under the table and laced her fingers with Hermione.  </p><p>“So we have been made aware of a certain photo you have of our dear Pansy, and we are very interested in seeing it.”  Daphne said, folding her hands on the table like she was trying to make a deal.  Hermione looked confused by this request.</p><p>“What are you-oh!  You mean the one I took over the holiday.”  She said, finally picking up on what this was about and Pansy groaned and let her head fall on the table.</p><p>“Yes, yes that one.”  Daphne said, nodding enthusiastically.  Hermione smiled, dropping Pansy’s hand for a moment and turned away from them for a moment.</p><p>“Hold on, I actually keep it on me.”  Hermione ducked into her robe and Pansy felt her cheeks get hot.  Hermione kept it on her <em> person </em> ?  She kept a photo of Pansy on her person?  She, for one, could not believe that. </p><p>“I thought you were just going to hang it up and leave it in your dorm!”  Pansy hissed and Hermione shrugged and pulled it out of robe, and Pansy wrinkled her nose at the way she’d gone from stoic to flipping them off with a smile.  It seemed so long ago, and almost like an out of body experience.  Hermione smiled and kissed Pansy’s cheek before speaking again.  If she thought that was going to get her out of being annoyed… she was absolutely right, but it wasn’t as if Pansy was going to <em> tell </em>her that!</p><p>“See, but then I wouldn’t get to sometimes remind you of just how <em> cute </em>you looked on Christmas.”  Hermione chuckled and Pansy huffed and looked away, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt as she crossed her arms over her chest.</p><p>“I did not-.”  Tracey gave her a look which was quick to shut her up.</p><p>“Pansy.  Defend yourself later.  Granger, if I may?”  Tracey asked, holding her hand out to Hermione.  She sighed and handed it over carefully.</p><p>“Don’t crease it.”  She instructed and Tracey rolled her eyes as she pulled it back to her and held it up between them.  Pansy watched as both of their mouths stretched into huge smiles at the photo and Pansy wanted to be swallowed up into the earth.</p><p>“... Merlin.”  Daphne murmured, and Tracey nodded.  Merlin, why was this a big fucking deal?  Pansy didn’t get what the big deal was with it.</p><p>“This.  This is brilliant.”  Tracey agreed and Pansy wondered if she obliviated everyone involved, would the photo just… stop existing.  Then she realized that would probably get her expelled from Hogwarts.</p><p>“And I was right, the eyes did happen!”  Daphne said and Hermione raised an eyebrow and leaned across the table as Pansy groaned and covered her face with her hands.  This had to be her personal hell.</p><p>“What eyes?” Hermione asked and Daphne set the photo down and leaned forward on her elbows, looking far too excited to disclose this information to someone.  Pansy wanted to run away.</p><p>“Pansy gets these eyes when she likes someone, it's basically like a mix between puppy dog eyes and adoration.”  Daphne explained and Pansy hated the smile that spread across Hermione’s face, it looked far too full of herself and really wanted to kiss it off of her face right now.</p><p>“Really?  Is that so.”  Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing over at her.  She was not going to give Hermione the satisfaction of knowing what an effect she’d always had on her.  <em>Someone </em>had to humble her.</p><p>“Shut up.”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione sighed and wrapped a hand around the back of Pansy’s neck as she spoke.</p><p>“Pansy, it’s okay for you to have had a crush on me.  We’re literally <em>dating, </em>obviously I liked you too.”  Hermione said and Pansy looked away, her cheeks feeling really warm.  Hermione should not have the ability to make her blush by speaking the fucking obvious.</p><p>“Be gentle with her, Granger.  She doesn’t know how to deal with positive reinforcement.  She’s got daddy issues, which I think became <em>very </em>clear when her father decided he would rather disown and obliviate his daughter instead of having an actual conversation or, Merlin forbid, trying to accept her.  She never knew love, she never-.”  Pansy threw her fork at Daphne’s head, who ducked it easily, and they both ignored one of the professors docking 5 house points from each of them.</p><p>“Sod off!, you fucking wanker!”  Pansy said, her voice going up on the last word.  She did not need to be psychoanalyzed over dinner.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head.</p><p>“Oh come on, that one was <em>barely </em>even a dig at you!  If anything it was a dig at your father!”  Daphne insisted and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  That just wasn’t the case, it was totally directed at her.</p><p>“Still a dig at me.”  She mumbled and Hermione rubbed her shoulder gently before speaking.</p><p>“Not incorrect though.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy’s jaw dropped and she shoved Hermione’s shoulder softly.</p><p>“Oi!”  Pansy snapped and Hermione sighed and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Pansy’s cheek lightly.</p><p>“I was <em>kidding </em>babe.  Mostly kidding.”  Hermione said, and Pansy looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.  Really?!</p><p>“Mostly?!”  Pansy said, her voice cracking, and Hermione shrugged and leaned onto one of her elbows.</p><p>“Well you’ve got… issues.”  Hermione said, being as careful as possible with saying that.  Pansy huffed and looked away.</p><p>“I’ve gotten better!”  She insisted and Hermione put a light hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“Doesn’t make them go away, just makes you more fun to be around.”  Hermione said with a shrug and Pansy tried to ignore Daphne and Tracey both stifling a bit of chuckle as she looked over at Hermione again.</p><p>“That.  That one was a low blow.”  She said and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.</p><p>“It was not.” Hermione insisted.  Pansy shook her head and crossed her arms.</p><p>“It was.  If you weren’t so cute I’d be hexing you right now.” Pansy murmured and Hermione’s eyebrows shot up, a smirk playing on her lips.</p><p>“Was that a threat… covered by a compliment?” Hermione asked and Pansy nodded.  Had she been expecting anything else, really?</p><p>“But of course, darling.”  Pansy said with a smile, and Hermione sighed and shook her head, brushing her hand over Pansy’s cheek.</p><p>“Merlin.  You are… certainly something.”  Hermione said, her voice sounding full of… adoration.  Really?  Adoration over <em>this?  </em>Merlin, she was fucking weird, Pansy knew when she got into this but still...</p><p>“Oh I know.”  Pansy said with a smirk, and Hermione wrapped her hand lightly around Pansy’s tie and pulled her a little closer so she could kiss her more easily.  This did not last long until something <em>thwacked</em> against Pansy’s head and they broke apart as Pansy glared over at Daphne.  Had she just been hit in the head with a <em>bread roll?  </em>Seriously, were they 11 or something?</p><p>“Oi!  No kissing at the table, I don’t wanna see anyone doing that.”  Daphne snapped and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.  How rich.</p><p>“Sod off, Greengrass.  Like you wouldn’t have your tongue down Zabini’s throat if he’d have you.”  Pansy pointed out, and Daphne blinked in surprise and cleared her throat, shifting around a bit, clearly uncomfortable with how quickly Pansy had said that.</p><p>“That’s-.”  Pansy smirked and cut her off.</p><p>“The same, very similar.” Pansy said and Daphne huffed and turned towards Tracey, effectively cutting Hermione and Pansy out of the conversation.</p><p>“Well, you two can just sod off.”  Daphne snapped and Pansy chuckled and kissed Hermione quickly one last time before resting her head on the other girl’s shoulder.  She spent the rest of the meal trying to make Daphne talk to her… and if the amount of things launched at her head were any sort of evidence, it did not go very well.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There’s this certain hallway on the second floor that opened to the outside, with alcoves just large enough for someone to sit on, and Pansy loved sitting there to read.  She was doing that today, her leg dangling over the side.  She didn’t know why, this was probably incredibly dangerous, but it made her feel calm, and made it easier to focus on her reading.  Or it would if someone wasn't calling her name right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson!  Just the woman I was looking to find!”  Pansy glanced over her book and sighed when she saw Ginny approaching.  Pansy leaned her head against the wall so she could make actual eye contact.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  What did I do?”  Pansy asked and Ginny gave her a funny look and sat down opposite her on the ledge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No, you didn’t do anything I… I just need your help.  Please.”  Ginny said, and she sounded so desperate that Pansy was a little more interested.  What was making Ginny Weasley so stressed?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’m listening, that does </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>mean I’m putting down my book.” Pansy sighed, turning another page in her book.  Had she actually read the last page?  Maybe, but she certainly didn’t retain it, but that wasn’t going to stop her from moving on.  Ginny snorted and shook her head, swinging both of her legs to be dangling over the edge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, sometimes you and Hermione really are a matched set.”  Ginny sighed, squinting out over the horizon.  Pansy rolled her eyes and shook her head because was that </span>
  <em>
    <span>honestly </span>
  </em>
  <span>why Ginny was here?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you come here to tell me that or something else?  Get on with it.”  She said, and Ginny sighed and looked down at the ground for a moment, as if she couldn’t remember what she was going to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… so you know how Valentine's day is coming up?”  Ginny asked and Pansy’s eyebrow shot up.  She didn’t remember that, probably not a good thing when her girlfriend has a better memory then anyone she's ever met.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>I… had forgotten but yes, thank you for the reminder.”  She said, and Ginny let out a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair as if she was about to say something of the utmost importance.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I wanna do something really special for Luna but I can’t figure out what to do.”  Ginny said and Pansy did actually set her book aside at this point to give Ginny her full attention.  It only seemed right to not act aloof right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, she likes… eccentric things from what I can tell… pretty sure she’ll love whatever it is you choose to do for her.”  Pansy said, hoping she sounded sincere.  She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>being </span>
  </em>
  <span>sincere but sometimes her voice betrayed her and made it seem like she didn’t care.  Ginny shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if she doesn’t?  It’s the first holiday we’ve actually celebrated </span>
  <em>
    <span>together </span>
  </em>
  <span>and I don’t want to fuck this up!”  She said, her voice cracking on the last word.  Pansy stifled her chuckle and leaned forward a bit, being careful to grip the ledge on either side so she didn’t fall down.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, well… Is little Ginny Weasley </span>
  <em>
    <span>blushing</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  And here I thought you were too much of a badass to care.”  Pansy teased, and Ginny shoved her a little bit, almost knocking her off balance.  The second Ginny realized this she stuck her arm out to stabilize her a bit, but was still glaring.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!  She’s… she’s so special, alright?  I assume you know what that’s like, you probably feel it every time you look at Hermione.  Like your heart is moments away from both beating out of your chest and stopping altogether.”  Ginny said and Pansy nodded.  That was almost exactly what she experienced being with Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is a shockingly good way to describe it.”  Pansy mumbled and Ginny nodded and looked at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What should I do?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy thought for a moment.  Ginny was lucky in the sense that Luna was pretty easy to read, and she probably just wanted to spend time with her girlfriend, but Pansy couldn’t be sure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well it's a Wednesday this year, so for school I’d say something small.  Like… transfigure something into flowers… write her a letter… offer to go look at the Thestrals with her.”  Pansy said and Ginny’s eyebrow arched.  It <em>did </em>sound kind of weird that Pansy remembered Thestrals, she could admit that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I can’t <em>see </em>them- wait, how do you know so much about what Luna says?”  Ginny asked and Pansy shrugged.  She didn’t exactly know <em>why </em>she had so easily remembered that, probably because it sounded bizarre and at some point in her past she meant to mock Luna for believing in them, but she’d never gotten around to it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s been around for five years, Gin.  Did you expect me to not hear the weird shit that comes out of her mouth sometimes?”  Pansy asked, arching her brow.  That sounded better then ‘probably because I was going to make fun of your girlfriend’, especially when she was talking to <em>Ginny</em>, who had a bit of a temper and would willingly hex her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, fair.  But that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t see Thestrals.”  Ginny sighed and Pansy thought for a moment before coming up with a solution.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry can.  From what I can <em>gather </em>from the little bit I’ve heard Luna talk about them, you can see ‘em if you’ve seen some die.  Potter’s parents died right in front of him, yeah?”  Pansy asked and Ginny chewed on her lip, clearly only half listening, the other half of her was stuck in her mind.  Pansy wanted to smack the back of her head, but she was scared to startle Ginny in case she were to fall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so.”  Ginny said and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Seriously?  Wasn’t Ginny obsessed with Harry for years, she <em>had </em>to know that.  She was probably just stressed out by this and forgot, Pansy thought, because if that <em>wasn’t </em>the case then she should go get her brain checked by a healer.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The answer is <em>yes.</em>  Merlin, Ginny.  He’s famous for a reason.  So… ask Potter what they look like, and he can give you a general explanation, and then you can go with Luna… but seeing them isn’t the fucking point.”  Pansy said, feeling a little frustrated at this point.  It should be so shockingly obvious to Ginny but for whatever reason, the redhead just couldn’t figure out what Pansy was suggesting.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's the point then?”  Ginny asked and Pansy sighed and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.  Merlin, Ginny isn’t daft, so why the hell can’t she get it, Pansy thought before responding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen to her talk, let her explain it to you… spend time together.  Pretty sure that’s half the reason Valentine's day is a thing.” Pansy said and Ginny nodded, finally getting it.  Thank Merlin, there wasn’t a more clear way to explain it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was a pretty thoughtful idea, it showed that Ginny would be taking an interest in Luna’s life.  Pansy wasn’t an idiot, she knew it was a romantic idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good idea.  What are you going to do for Hermione?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy grimaced.  What are you supposed to get the girl who seems to have everything she wants?  It seems like an impossible task.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly?”  Pansy asked and Ginny nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  She said and Pansy sighed and rubbed her temples.  It didn’t help that she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> remembered that Valentine's day was coming up, of course she didn’t have ideas.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No fucking clue.  Like not one.  I don’t know if she’s big on the whole… celebrating Valentine's day thing, some people don’t want a big deal made for them… Some people want doves transfigured to fly overhead and drop love poems in front of them.  I think Granger might be the first.”  Pansy theorized and Ginny chuckled and raised her eyebrow, leaning a little bit closer to Pansy before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ll tell you that when Ron forgot it was Valentine's day and instead chose to blow the day off when Hermione asked him to meet her, she didn’t speak to him for a week.  I don’t know if that was my brother being a flake or if she really wanted to celebrate it.”  Ginny said, and Pansy felt the color drain out of her face.  The last thing she wanted was to make Hermione mad, she knew how that ended.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I suppose it never </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurts </span>
  </em>
  <span>to celebrate it.  Just in case.”  Pansy said, and Ginny nodded, a small smile on her face as she bumped Pansy’s shoulder with her own.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t wanna be on the other side of Hermione’s wand if she’s angry, smart girl.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what she’d like!  Books?”  Pansy asked and Ginny gave her a look.  What?  It was a good guess...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s a three dimensional person, Parkinson.  She has other interests.”  Ginny said in a flat tone, and Pansy arched her eyebrow.  Hermione hadn’t really discussed her other interests with Pansy yet, not for lack of her trying to figure them out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Such as?”  She prompted and Ginny thought for a moment before sighing and throwing her hands up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know!  Just… don’t get her a book, it seems a little like you don’t care if you go for something that easy.”  Ginny pointed out and she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy knew that but it didn’t make it any easier.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…”  She started and Ginny thought for a moment before responding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think your idea you had for me, the one about writing a letter… that might be a good place to start.  You hardly express your emotions-.”  Pansy clenched her jaw and glared. Every second she thought that smacking Ginny even though she may fall sounded like a better and better idea.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!”  She snapped and Ginny held up her hands in defense before continuing her sentence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not being rude, simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>observing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but a letter might be a good way to tell her in more plain words how you feel.  I know sometimes she second guesses if you’re even actually interested in her or if she’s making it all up in her head.”  Ginny said and Pansy arched an eyebrow in concern.  No one had told her about that… sort of seems like something she should know about so she could correct it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!  When does she do that?!”  Pansy asked, shifting a little closer to Ginny, who shrugged before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Almost every night.  I’ll catch her pacing the common room, convinced that you’re just too scared to break up with her.”  Ginny explained and Pansy felt her heart squeeze a little because had she been </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>shitty of a girlfriend that Hermione doubted how she felt?  Hell, she could hardly focus in class anymore because she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>staring at Hermione, the way her lips moved when she read something new, the triumphant smile she got when she did a new spell correctly… it was enough to drive even the most sane woman mad and of all the people she’d chosen </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  It still boggled her mind, but apparently not outwardly enough.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s ridiculous!  I like her </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>much, and not just because she’s fucking beautiful -she is, obviously… it's like looking at the human embodiment of sunshine on a summer's day… I just want to be around her all the time because she makes me feel all… warm.  And… she makes the shitty days a lot less shitty.  And don’t tell her this, but I actually love studying with her.  I like watching the way her face changes when she reads it’s… mesmerizing.  Like she’ll scrunch up her nose a bit if she doesn’t agree with what’s written, and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>laughs </span>
  </em>
  <span>while she reads if she gets really into it and I just… I get so entranced watching her…”  Pansy said, trailing off a bit and just thinking about her.  Honestly, there was no logical reason </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>they were together, but Pansy didn’t want Hermione thinking that there wasn’t a logical reason that she wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Ginny cleared her throat, bringing Pansy back to reality.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mate, something tells me she might know a bit about that last part?”  Ginny said quietly and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  That didn’t make sense, she’d never said anything close to any of that to Hermione.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Why?”  She asked and Ginny chuckled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Turn around, you absolute idiot.”  Ginny said, and Pansy turned her head and saw Hermione standing about a foot away from her, and Pansy was damn lucky she wasn’t dangling <em>both </em>her legs over the edge or she would’ve fallen.  She pulled herself to her feet and flattened her hair, taking a deep breath.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, I-.”  Pansy’s words died in her throat the second that Hermione put a finger to her lips and kept them there for a moment before letting her hand drop so she could pull Pansy in for a quick kiss.  When she pulled away, she was smiling so large and Pansy didn’t know why, she’d just completely gone against how she normally was, how is this a good thing?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shush.  Don’t go taking it all back now, love.  That's probably the sweetest you’ve ever been about me.”  Hermione said with a small smile and Pansy swallowed heavily before responding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’d be a lot sweeter if you weren’t such a wanker sometimes.”  Pansy mumbled, looking down.  Hermione sighed and let go of her, chuckling.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And she’s back.”  Hermione said, and turned on her heel to go.  She probably just had somewhere to be, but something in Pansy made her worry, so she reached out and pulled Hermione back by her arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, wait.  Hermione Jean Granger.”  Pansy said, and Hermione turned around with a look of surprise on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did you learn my middle name?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged, crossing her arms.  No need to tell her that Ginny said her middle name once and she made sure to memorize it, that just made her seem… obsessed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“An informant told me.”  Pansy said cooly and Ginny waved from her spot on the ledge with a smirk on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, informant here.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  There goes the air of mystery.  Hermione pointed a warning finger at Ginny and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll get you back for that one, Gin.”  Hermione said, her voice betraying that she wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>upset and Ginny shrugged.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t blame you.”  She responded and Pansy had to admire their dynamic, it was a little more… kind than hers and Daphne’s, but still had that same bite. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyways</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>happy that I’m with you, and I don’t want to hear any more of this rubbish of you thinking that I’m not into you, alright?”  Pansy asked, cupping Hermione’s cheek lightly.  Hermione looked like she wanted to fight this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She tried and Pansy shook her head, rubbing her thumb gently across Hermione’s cheek as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No buts!  Seriously!  I’ve… Merlin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> a realization…”  Pansy mumbled, her face getting a bit hot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Hermione asked and Pansy sighed and wrung her hands a bit.  She really didn’t want to say this out loud, it felt like something that could lead to a rather painful rejection.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>liked someone the way that I like you.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione grinned and raised her eyebrow, in her cocky ‘I just learned very important information that I can store for future use’ type of way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  She asked, sounding all too pleased with herself.  Pansy groaned and struggled out of her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t go ruining it, come on!”  Pansy grumbled and Hermione grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, tucking some of the hair out of her face.  It shouldn’t still take Pansy’s breath away, being this close to her but it does.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no!  Hey… I really like you too… Honestly a little shocked by how much, considering our past…”  Hermione murmured and Pansy chuckled and nodded.  If you’d told 5th year Pansy she’d ever be in this situation she’d pass away from shock alone.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was a proper wanker for a bit there, wasn’t I?”  Pansy breathed, glancing down at Hermione’s lips for a moment.  They were so soft… and when they turned up in a smile, like they were doing now, it was almost an irresistible urge to lean in and kiss them.  Hermione laughed, forcing Pansy to look her in the eyes again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah just like… for six years?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy’s jaw dropped.  It had <em>not </em>been that long yet!<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!  It was <em>five </em>years!  I was mostly nice this year!”  Pansy defended weakly, and she heard Ginny chuckle behind her.  Wanker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is hardly better.”  Ginny laughed, and Pansy shot her one warning look.  That was all she was going to get, next time Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to push her off the ledge, and she wouldn’t regret it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay out of it, Weasley!”  Pansy growled, but this only succeeded in amusing Ginny more.  She hopped to her feet and crossed her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oooo… someone’s touchy.  I’m gonna go find Luna, have fun with your little… Argument?  Second profession of feelings?  I really don’t know, anyways… have fun.”  She said, gesturing vaguely between them as she talked before disappearing down the hall. Hermione put a finger under Pansy’s chin and directed her to look back into her eyes with a small smile on her face as she let her hands rest on the back of Pansy’s neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what did she need from you?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy found herself distracted again by Hermione’s lips.  It should be illegal to have such pretty lips, especially when you’re talking because now Pansy had to try to remember everything Hermione said so that she didn’t feel like she was being ignored.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was asking me for advice on what to do with Luna for Valentines day.”  She mumbled and Hermione sighed and chuckled, shaking her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, those two are far too sweet together.”  Hermione said and Pansy nodded.  She wasn’t wrong.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Yeah I agree.”  Pansy said, glancing at her again with a small smile before taking her hand and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek, surprising Hermione a bit, it wasn’t all the time that Pansy was so willing to give casual affection but she was working on it.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Thinking about Hermione was easy, she knew exactly what she thought about her and how she felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>in her mind.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>But for Pansy, the whole putting it down on paper thing was more difficult because once it's out there it's hard to take back.  But she was trying really hard to get past that mental block because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>want Hermione to know and-.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, what are you doing?”  Daphne asked, startling Pansy from her writing.  She quickly folded the letter over and tucked some hair out of her face before looking up at Daphne, hoping she hadn’t seen anything.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing.”  Pansy said quickly and Daphne arched her eyebrow when she saw the quill and paper in Pansy’s hand.  She could’ve just as easily been doing homework, but Pansy knew that Daphne wouldn’t buy that, her textbooks were across the room.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re writing… since when do you write?”  Daphne asked, clearly a little suspicious.  Pansy cleared her throat and looked away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m doing homework.”  Pansy lied, and it was such a stiff lie that Daphne </span>
  <em>
    <span>laughed</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Great, just what Pansy needs right now, someone laughing at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No you’re not… you haven’t even gotten a textbook out.”  Daphne said, and Pansy nodded.  That was what she expected.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m studying.”  She tried and Daphne bent down to make eye contact.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lets see your notes then.”  She said and snatched the letter from Pansy’s hand before she could be stopped.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph!  Give that back!”  Pansy hissed and Daphne gave her a grin and unfolded the letter.  Pansy let her head drop into her hands.  Merlin, her reputation was finished if this got out anywhere.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dear Hermione’  Ooooo, writing love letters now, Parkinson?”  Daphne teased, and Pansy felt her face get hot as she held her hand out, not making eye contact with Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne, last warning.”  Pansy warned and Daphne kept reading, her eyebrow shooting up as she started understanding what was happening.  It shouldn’t be considered </span>
  <em>
    <span>weird </span>
  </em>
  <span>for Pansy to write her girlfriend a letter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… oh my-it's actually a love letter.”  Daphne said, her voice in awe. Was it really so hard to believe that Pansy could present positive feelings?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Give it back</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said through gritted teeth, getting more embarrassed by the minute.  It’s one thing to write a love letter that your girlfriend will </span>
  <em>
    <span>privately </span>
  </em>
  <span>see and it's a whole other thing when your best friend steals it and reads the whole thing, and currently Pansy would like to hex Daphne with every fibre of her being.   Daphne handed the letter back to Pansy and sat down on her bed, her eyebrow knitted together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you writing her a love letter at 8:32 on a Tuesday?”  Daphne asked and Pansy willed herself to make eye contact again, and for her voice to not betray how stressed she actually was about writing this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m giving it to her on Valentines day.”  Pansy explained and Daphne’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but it was clear she was trying to suppress it.  That’s not an easy task when Pansy’s known her for over five years, of course she could tell Daphne wasn’t expecting that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, for real?”  She asked and Pansy nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Why?  Is it that bad?”  Pansy asked, feeling the panic grip her chest.  She knew she should have vetted this idea with more people.  But before she could stress too much Daphne put a comforting hand on her shoulder and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no I just… I never knew you to be the romantic type.”  Daphne said, her voice soft and a little too gentle for Pansy’s liking.  This </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>their dynamic and it was not about to become their dynamic.  She shook Daphne’s hand off of her shoulder and glared.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not.”  She insisted and Daphne sighed and leaned a little forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans-.”  Daphne started, and Pansy shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  At least not normally.  But something about her just… demands it.  Like… sometimes I think about the fact that there isn’t poetry written about her, and it seems like a crime but also I’m rubbish with my words so I can’t do that.  I occasionally think about taking up drawing… just so I can sketch her a bit, you know?”  Pansy asked, looking over at Daphne who looked completely lost.  It was fair, this probably wasn’t the conversation she was ever expecting to have with Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea, but feel free to continue.”  Daphne said, leaning back on her palms as Pansy ran a hand through her hair and kept talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s like looking at a human ray of sunshine, I don’t know what I did to deserve someone so pretty and so perfect who everyone seems to love when I’m just… me.  I’m rude and I’m loud and I’m angry, and I know most people don’t find me particularly pretty, they just think me to be rather severe which is some people’s thing.  And everyone got one thing right, I’m always so angry, you know?  But… whenever she’s around that all gets turned down and I can just feel… <em>her.</em>  In her essence and it's so overwhelming that I need to write it down for her to know exactly how I feel, because I know I can never say it out loud without faltering a bit.  Did you know she paces around the Gryffindor common room wondering if I’m faking my feelings for her?”  Pansy asked and Daphne shook her head and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well no, obviously I didn’t know that but it doesn’t shock me.  You’ve never been forthcoming with your feelings, personally I think it’d be a nightmare to date you.”  Daphne said with a chuckle and Pansy snorted and shoved her shoulder.  And the nice, sweet dynamic was gone, it lasted longer than Pansy had thought it would though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So kind, Daph.”  Pansy said, shaking her head.  She honestly preferred when they were more snippy, it was easier for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honest.  I was being </span>
  <em>
    <span>honest</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Daphne said with a small smile.  Pansy sighed and shoved her lightly, laying down on her bed as Daphne made her way across the room.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re such a wanker, Greengrass.”  Pansy mumbled, and Daphne smacked her arm, settling back down on the ground in front of Pansy’s bed and bringing a joint to her mouth, muttering something that produced a tiny flame at the end of her wand, effectively lighting it.  She took a long pull and leaned her head back, taking a moment before exhaling.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.  Want some?”  She asked, holding it up in front of Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  Oh.  Yeah.”  Pansy said, sitting up and reaching for it.  Daphne held the joint just out of reach with a quirked eyebrow with a mischievous smirk on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You gonna pay me back for it?”  She asked and Pansy scoffed and crossed her arms.  Like Daphne had a single leg to stand on with that argument.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?  Do we <em>want </em>to go into how much of a debt you have to <em>me </em>if we’re gonna start having to pay each other?”  Pansy asked and Daphne  was silent for a moment before nodding and bringing it back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fair point.  Have at.”  Daphne said and Pansy grinned and nodded, feeling triumphant.  Plus, she knew she was in the right, Daphne had been using hers for years without financial compensation, this was only fair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I thought.”  Pansy said, taking the joint out of Daphne’s hand and taking a long pull.  She was a little surprised when her chest was <em>actually </em>burning from this… she’d been doing it almost daily since she turned 14, but… taking a few weeks off <em>can </em>have an effect, she realized.  Daphne rubbed her back a little and sighed as Pansy exhaled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take it slow, it's been a while for you.”  Daphne pointed out and Pansy shot her a glare, even as she suppressed the urge to cough.  She would not be giving Daphne that satisfaction right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know my limits.”  Pansy insisted, and Daphne rolled her eyes and plucked it from between Pansy’s fingers and took a drag before handing it back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I don’t exactly want you testing them right now, not a prime time to bring you to the infirmary.”  Daphne pointed out and Pansy supposed she did have a point.  Going to the infirmary while high was never fun, she’d only done it once or twice and she never wanted to repeat it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.”  Pansy said, taking another pull.  They were silent for a few moments before Daphne let her head loll onto Pansy’s lap so she could look her in the face.  Pansy let her fingers run through Daphne’s hair as the other girl spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t you have something you needed to do tonight?”  Daphne asked and Pansy started putting a small braid in Daphne’s hair as she spoke.  She knew Daphne would claim she’d take it out immediately, but she always kept it in for a day or two, which lead Pansy to believe it was actually something she liked.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No?”  She said and Daphne sighed and knitted her eyebrows together before speaking again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure, I could’ve sworn you said something yesterday…”  Pansy thought about it and then she remembered.  Oh fuck. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit!  I have prefect rounds.”  Pansy said, scrambling to her feet, careful to lay Daphne’s head back onto the bed where her lap had been as she passed her the joint and tried to dispel some of the smoke, some of the smell.  It, of course, did nothing as Pansy expected and she groaned in frustration.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You smell like-.”  Daphne started and Pansy shot her a glare and ran a hand through her hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m very <em>aware </em>of that, but I don’t exactly have time to address it.”  She snapped and Daphne lifted her head up and stretched, putting out the joint.  Pansy felt a little bad, she didn’t want Daphne’s night to be ruined just because she couldn’t remember something.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s your rounds partner?” Daphne asked and Pansy thought for a moment and groaned, covering her face.  How could she be so dumb?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.  It’s Hermione.”  She sighed, dropping her hands from her face and straightening her tie, trying to make herself look as professional as possible.  Maybe if she just didn’t acknowledge it, Hermione wouldn’t even notice.  Doubtful, but weirder things <em>have </em>happened.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s gonna kill you.”  She said and Pansy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, glaring down again at Daphne.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My girlfriend is not going to-.” She started, and Daphne opened one eye and pointed at the door.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span><em>“Pansy</em>.”  Daphne said, her voice coming out a little stern, and Pansy nodded and sighed.  Right, off to her death then.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, going.”  Pansy mumbled, and once she was out of the dorm she sprinted down the hall to where Hermione was.  She was standing with her back to Pansy, and Pansy slid her arms around the other girl’s waist and Hermione made a startled sound and stepped forward before turning around, her face dropping into irritation when she saw Pansy standing there, looking a little sheepish.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re late.”  She snapped and Pansy shrugged and rubbed the back of her head.  What was she supposed to say?  She couldn’t exactly fight a fact.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only by 10 minutes.”  Pansy said weakly, and Hermione sniffed and made a face, shaking her head.  Okay, so she noticed, not something to panic about, she’d been pretty cool about it last time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you smell <em>terrible </em>again, if a teacher smells your right now, Slytherin can kiss any chance of the house cup goodbye.”  Hermione scolded and Pansy sighed and nodded.  She had certainly earned this side of Hermione right now, and she knew it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have the spray on you?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes and nodded, pulling it out of her bag and tossing it over to Pansy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I do.  Hurry up.”  She said and Pansy sprayed it all over and handed it back, and Hermione started walking away from her at an impressive clip, clearly still very irritated by Pansy’s tardiness.  Pansy sighed and jogged to catch up to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love?”  She tried and Hermione shot her a glare.  Okay, still mad.  Got it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Hermione snapped and Pansy sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she took longer strides to keep up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am actually sorry.  I didn’t mean to be late, I was in the middle of working on something that I’m giving you on Valentine's day, or I was before Daphne stole it from me and started reading it-.”  Hermione’s face immediately softened and she stopped walking and reached up to gently rest her hand on Pansy’s cheek.  She leaned into the touch and sighed in relief, rounds would not be fun if Hermione was pissed the whole time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re writing me something?”  Hermione asked softly, and Pansy felt her face get hot as she closed her eyes, trying to will the redness to go away.  It didn’t work.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“.... Maybe.”  She mumbled and she heard Hermione sigh, and opened one eye to see her smiling up with a look of adoration.  Hard to believe that like… a minute ago she was seconds from hexing Pansy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, that’s so-.” Hermione started and Pansy sighed and cut her off, kissing the palm of her hand before using both of her hands to hold it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t ruin it.”  She said and Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes, grabbing Pansy’s tie to bring her down for a quick kiss, which did surprise Pansy for a second.  They were on prefect duty, normally Hermione was very careful to keep any physical contact to a minimum so they didn't seem distracted.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever… thank you.”  Hermione said, and let her hand stay in Pansy’s as she pulled her down the hallway.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah.  ‘Course.” Pansy mumbled, basically to herself at that point and she thought about how quickly Hermione had gotten over her frustration.  That was <em>not </em>a virtue that Pansy possessed, but she could respect people that did.  It did make the rounds far more enjoyable, that was for certain.<br/></span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was only 8:00 in the morning, this was far too early to already be having an existential crisis, but Pansy supposed that she couldn’t exactly control it.  And it was all Daphne’s fault because of course she had to ask about her plans like some kind of </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>caring </span>
  </em>
  <span>friend.  Likely story, she just wanted to watch Pansy squirm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what's your plan for Valentine's day?”  Daphne asked as they rounded the hallway up from the dorms.  Pansy sighed and tucked her hair out of her face as she spoke.  She wasn’t doing anything extravagant, but she was still nervous about how it would turn out for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I wrote her that letter and I’m giving it to her.”  Pansy explained and Daphne chuckled and raised an eyebrow, like that wasn’t good enough or something which </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy’s exact worry, that Hermione wasn’t going to like how simple it was.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re just going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>give </span>
  </em>
  <span>it to her?”  Daphne asked, seeming very amused by that.  What was she supposed to do?  Perform a ballad and have it drop from the sky with a dozen roses?  That wasn’t exactly Pansy’s style, she barely had it in her to write the whole letter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not much of a romantic, Daph.  But I did spend two days making sure this letter was perfect so I think that has to count for something, right?”  Pansy asked and Daphne sighed and shrugged as they entered the great hall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well obviously it will I just-.”  Pansy interrupted her once she had sight of Hermione and quickly turned to Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, go wait for me at our table, save me a seat.  I’m gonna go give it to her.”  She said and Daphne smirked and patted her shoulder before starting to walk away backwards. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck, lovergirl.”  Daphne teased and Pansy felt her face heat up as she glared at Daphne, who managed to turn around </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>before she ran into some poor first year.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, you wanker!”  Pansy called after her and Daphne shook her head and looked over her shoulder to respond.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a term of encouragement, calm down!”  Daphne said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and turned on her hell, walking over to the Gryffindor table.  Once she reached where Hermione was sitting she had a moment of wanting to run away.  What if she thought the letter was too much and broke up with her?  But she steeled herself and tapped on Hermione’s shoulder lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione?”  She asked quietly and she heard Hermione sigh before she started turning around to face her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I’m flattered but I’m in a-Oh!  Pansy!  Thank Merlin it's you, I’ve had to turn down a few guys who were trying to give me Valentines.”  Hermione said with a sigh of relief.  Pansy couldn’t help the slight jealousy that pooled in her stomach.  It wasn’t right to want to hex whoever was doing that, she knew that it made her look possessive but that didn’t change the fact that that was what her brain was screaming at her to do.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who?”  Pansy asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible, but apparently her emotions betrayed her because Hermione was quick to shake her head and rub a comforting hand up and down Pansy’s arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  I’m not telling you.”  Hermione said gently, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  It wasn’t like she’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>them, just instill the fear of Merlin in them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And why’s that?”  Pansy asked cooly and Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair before talking.  Did she not believe that Pansy could keep her temper under control?  She’d be right most of the time but she would actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>try </span>
  </em>
  <span>this time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’ll go all scary girlfriend on them, but honestly they were rather harmless.”  Hermione said, smirking a little bit.  Okay so she did know what Pansy planned to do, great, awesome.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Okay.  I suppose that's fair.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione grinned and leaned a little bit against the wall, raising her eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there a reason you came over here?  Not that I don’t love seeing you, it's just that you normally meet me after breakfast.”  Hermione said and Pansy nodded, pulling the letter out of her sweater.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Yeah, here.”  She said, pressing it into Hermione’s hand.  She looked a little surprised by the heft of it as she looked up at Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy this is-.”  Pansy cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck, refusing to make eye contact with Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Long?  I know.  I don’t talk about how I feel much, and I’m just… trying to get it all out, you know?”  Pansy said and she dared a glance at Hermione, sort of expecting her to look a little bit weirded out, but instead she just looked… grateful.  Which Pansy couldn’t understand, she’d just been given an insanely long letter because her girlfriend couldn’t express her emotions, what was there to be grateful for?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, love.  I have something for you but it's just not on me.  So… I’ll give it to you after classes today, okay?”  Hermione asked and Pansy nodded.  That sounded completely fair, maybe Pansy should’ve waited too.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that sounds good.”  Pansy said and Hermione grinned, hopping on her toes for a moment to press a kiss to her cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Amazing.  Now, you need to eat.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy shrugged.  She honestly wasn’t feeling all that hungry right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not all that-.”  Hermione cut her off with a raised eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, her voice a little more insistent, and Pansy rolled her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, fine.  I’ll eat.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione grinned, rubbing her thumb across Pansy’s jaw before moving her hand up to sit flat on her cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank  you, love.  And thank you for the letter.”  Hermione said, gently stroking Pansy’s cheek.  Pansy resisted the urge to lean into the touch, she wasn’t sure what would dock house points right now and what wouldn’t.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.”  Pansy murmured, and turned to go to her table and actually eat, because she said she was going to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!”  Hermione said, grabbing Pansy’s wrist to keep her from leaving.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked, turning around to face her again.  Hermione tucked some hair behind her ear before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I forgot to do something.” Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  That didn't seem like something Hermione would do.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you forget?”  Pansy asked and she felt one of Hermione’s arms around her waist as her free hand grabbed her tie and pulled Pansy down for a kiss.  Hermione lingered longer then she normally did in public, which surprised Pansy a bit.  When they separated, Hermione cupped her cheek sweetly and smiled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy Valentines day, Pans.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy swallowed heavily and nodded, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible as she responded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah.  You too.”  Pansy said, her voice cracking on the last word as she turned and walked briskly to her table, sinking down next to Daphne who gave her a smirk as she finished chewing the bite of food she had.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that seemed to go well.  Merlin, you’re as red as a tomato.”  Daphne snorted and Pansy groaned and covered her face with her hands.  She was never going to live this reaction down, that was for sure.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, shut up.”  Pansy said, her voice muffled by the hands over her face.  Daphne looped an arm around Pansy’s shoulders before she started talking again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One little kiss got you all flustered like a little school girl, that’s hilarious.”  Daphne said and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Sure, she gets flustered by a kiss in public but in private?  Most of the time that was a different story, but Daphne didn’t have to know that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you figure?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shrugged and looked forward</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p><span>“Because you always tried to pretend like you were so cold and unfeeling… and then some pretty Gryffindor comes along and you turn to mush.”  She pointed out and Pansy huffed.  The only person she’d ever been like this around was Hermione and it was just a </span><em><span>coincidence </span></em><span>that she was a Gryffindor.</span> <span><br/></span></p><p>
  <span>“I do not!”  Pansy insisted, trying to ignore how her voice squeaked up a bit at the end.  Daphne smirked and took a sip from her cup before speaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do.”  Daphne said and Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved Daphne’s shoulder lightly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.”  She murmured.  They were silent for a bit, and Pansy was able to let her irritation calm down a little bit, but after a few moments Daphne gently smacked her arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans… what's that?”  Daphne asked and Pansy looked to where she was pointing and saw a letter, tied up with a little bow, and she shrugged.  It obviously wasn’t hers, so why should she care?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m sure it's someone else's.  I mean, besides Hermione who would bother writing me a Valentine?”  Pansy asked, taking a bite of her toast.  Daphne raised an eyebrow and picked up the letter between two fingers, as if it were going to bite her and cautiously looked at the outside of the envelope.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It has your name on it.” Daphne pointed out, and went to open it but Pansy yanked it from her hands and stood up.  “Where the bloody hell are you going?”  Daphne asked and Pansy looked back and sighed, flicking some hair out of her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to throw it out, I’m not interested and that will get the message across.”  Pansy explained and Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes, taking it out of Pansy’s hand<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give it here-.”  Daphne said and Pansy grabbed for it back, but she was held off by Daphne’s hand as the other girl opened it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne!”  Pansy said, and Daphne flashed her a large grin as she looked at the paper in front of her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, lets see… Oh.  Merlin, this is oddly graphic.”  Daphne said, her voice betraying how surprising what she was reading was… or how inappropriate and Pansy couldn’t tell which it was.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked and Daphne cleared her throat and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seems like you've got a secret admirer, and a rather… <em>physical </em>one at that.”  Daphne said, grimacing a little on the word physical.  What the hell was that supposed to mean?  What was she reading?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does it say?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne was quick to shake her head and fold the letter in half.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I <em>cannot </em>read this aloud, I hardly wanted to read it.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then let me see.”  Pansy insisted, holding out her hand and Daphne shrugged.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you insist.”  Daphne said, sounding very uncomfortable.  She handed Pansy the letter and she started to read, getting more and more uncomfortable with every passing second because <em>who the fuck </em>would write this to her, it was far too intimate for someone she didn’t even know.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin’s <em>beard, </em>who the hell would think it's okay to send that to me?  Especially on school grounds, <em>especially </em>when I’m publicly spoken for.”  Pansy said, visibly irritated.  It didn’t seem like a wise idea, it's not like anything would come of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean the line <em>I watch you when you’re with her and pretend it's my hands caressing you, I get so jealous when I see her lips where mine rightfully should be</em> is telling me they know that, they just don’t really care.”  Daphne mumbled, looking a little ill at what she had just said.  Pansy shook her head and grimaced.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, it just… I don’t understand.  I haven’t been in a relationship at all until this year-.”  Daphne shrugged and flicked the letter further away from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe everyone was too scared of your ruse with Draco to ever mess with you.” Daphne pointed out, and Pansy nodded.  It made some sense, she and Draco could be a bit intimidating together, but still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That makes sense but Hermione can be vicious.  She’s smart, she’s very good at every subject.  Merlin, I’d be afraid if I were this person.”  Pansy murmured and Daphne raised an eyebrow and leaned a little bit closer.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  You gonna tell Hermione?”  Daphne asked and Pansy nodded.  She wasn’t about to keep this a secret from her girlfriend.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m going to tell her!  It only seems right.”  Pansy said and Daphne nudged her chin up towards the entrance to the great hall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, now's your chance.  She just got up to go.” She pointed out and Pansy nodded, standing up to go.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you in class, Daph.”  Pansy said and Daphne nodded and waved her off, taking the apple that Pansy hadn’t touched off of her plate.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah just go.” Daphne sighed and Pansy nodded, turning on her heel to follow after Hermione.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione!  Wait up.”  Pansy called, breaking into a slow run to catch up to Hermione, who had stopped when she heard Pansy’s voice.  She looked over and smiled, rubbing her arm softly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, why are you running?  I was slowing down anyway, I saw you leave the great hall.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she clutched the Valentine in her hand.  Was it even a Valentine or just a strange letter?  Pansy assumed because of the day...<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… So something’s happened.”  Pansy explained and Hermione let out a small chuckle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be less vague then that, you’re making it sound like someone’s died.” Hermione said and Pansy sighed and looked down.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone’s sent me an anonymous Valentine.” Pansy said and Hermione looked alarmed by this.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you <em>read </em>it?!  Pansy it could’ve been enchanted or-.”  Pansy held up a hand to silence her and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on, correction, Daphne read it, I wanted to toss it out.”  Pansy clarified and Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment before responding.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me see it.”  Hermione said quietly and Pansy raised an eyebrow, hesitating.  <em>She </em>hadn’t even wanted to see it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?  It’s rather graphic.”  Pansy said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow and held out her hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If someone’s soliciting my girlfriend I’d like to know what they’re saying.”  She said firmly and Pansy sighed and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright…”  She mumbled and handed Hermione the letter.  She watched as her expression shifted from trying to understand, to confusion, and finally to disgust mixed with a little bit of anger as she shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my <em>god.  </em>I can’t think of who would write this.”  Hermione said, sounding a touch angry as she brought the letter down to her side.  Pansy shrugged and sighed, leaning against the wall.  It made no sense.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right?  Me neither.”  Pansy said, and Hermione chuckled a bit and shook her head as she read the letter again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean <em>when I’m alone I think of you, and I think of how your touch must feel.  I get irrationally jealous thinking about how </em><b><em>she </em></b><em>has touched the parts of you that are rightfully made for me</em> is a bit much in the way of an anonymous valentine.  Apparently we need to be a lot more careful because people are watching us, I’m pretty sure that last passage was referring to last week in the library.”  Hermione said, her voice going down to a whisper on the last sentence.  Pansy felt her face get a little bit hot as she remembered that they <em>had </em>been careless last week.  Making out in the stacks was one thing, but it became a whole different ball game when you forgot the silencing and disillusionment charms.  That ‘study session’ had ended in Madam Pince damn near docking 50 points from each house before Hermione convinced her not to and somehow got it talked down to 5.  Pansy honestly would do it again, even if it did dock her points, or normally she would.  Right now it seemed like a bad idea with someone watching them.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re probably right, I can’t think of any other time someone would’ve seen something.  Literally I’ve never even gotten a Valentine before, I don’t know why someone would send one now.”  Pansy said, trying to quickly change the subject, and it did work.  Hermione thought for a moment before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe with your change from seeming like you’d kill anyone whose near you to actually expressing emotions has stirred something in someone.  I mean, someone other than me obviously.”  Hermione said and Pansy snorted and shook her head, crossing her arms.  Obviously it wouldn’t have been a big deal if it had been from Hermione.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, ‘Mione.  I thought <em>you </em>wrote that Valentine.  Of course I knew you meant someone other than you!”  Pansy said in an exasperated voice.  Hermione sighed and nodded, running a hand through her hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we can keep an eye out, if anyone sends you anything else, we can take care of it.” Hermione said, and Pansy was surprised to hear the ‘we’ of it.  She could’ve handled this all on herself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll help?”  Pansy asked, not sure if she wanted her to or not.  Hermione nodded and crossed her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re my girlfriend, I don’t take too kindly to anyone harassing you.”  Hermione said, her voice sounding rather assertive.  There was no way Pansy was going to be able to have her let this go so they could just have a good day.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Pansy mumbled, and they headed off to their classes.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>It happened five more times, she got five more letters of varying levels of graphicness, all appearing between pages of her textbook, her textbooks which she always had near her.  Pansy knew better than to leave something she literally would have to pay money to replace out where someone could get it, so it didn’t make sense that they were there.  Someone must’ve charmed the letter to appear in there, that's the only way.  She tried to put it out of her mind now, because Hermione said she had a surprise for her, and to come up to the Astronomy tower.  As Pansy climbed the stairs she did feel a mounting anxiety because… what if the letter wasn’t enough?  What if Hermione had wanted more?  What if she was inviting Pansy up to the Astronomy tower just to break up with her?  Really, anything was possible, but that last one was pushed out of her head when she saw Hermione, standing with a single red rose and smiling at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wanted to see me?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione held out the rose to her and sighed.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and took it from her hand.  Was this the whole reason for being summoned to the astronomy tower?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy Valentines day.”  Hermione said, hopping up a bit to press a gentle kiss onto the side of Pansy’s jaw. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you…”  Pansy murmured, still confused as to why they had to go to the Astronomy tower.  She could’ve given Pansy a rose anywhere in the school but she was very insistent of the location.  Hermione grinned and took a step back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Right.  I was thinking we could watch the sunset and then maybe stargaze until curfew?”  Hermione asked and Pansy felt a smile spread across her face as she nodded.  That sounded so perfect after this horribly stupid day.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That actually sounds… amazing.”  Pansy said and Hermione chuckled and looked up at her, grasping each of Pansy’s hands in hers.  Her hands were always so warm, Pansy loved that about her, especially since it was the middle of February and she was constantly freezing right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?  Not too boring?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shook her head and leaned in, kissing her softly before responding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing with you is boring, ‘Mione.”  Pansy said softly, and Hermione chuckled and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean it's not like I’m writing you smut letters and sending them.”  She joked and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.  Of course she had to joke about that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but that’s not romantic, that’s just… creepy.  I don’t know who's sending them and I just want it to stop.”  Pansy said and Hermione nodded and cleared her throat before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you gotten any more?”  She asked and Pansy nodded, noting that Hermione did not look surprised by this.  Pansy had been, she thought one was more then enough for the person to get their point across.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five more.  They appeared in my textbooks.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione did look impressed with their method of distribution.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clever, I’ll give them that.  Well, lay them out then, we can sit down and figure this out.”   Hermione said, dropping to the ground.  Pansy sighed and pulled the letters out of her cloak, laying them down on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All the handwritings match, so it's obviously the same person.”  Pansy said and Hermione shook her head.  Okay, how could <em>that </em>be wrong?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or, it's a group of people charming their handwriting the same, but the writing style is the same so you’re probably right.  But I don’t think this is someone’s handwriting.”  Hermione said and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  How was it <em>not </em>someone’s handwriting, the letters were very clearly hand written.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Pansy asked and Hermione looked at her like it should’ve been obvious.  It obviously wasn’t, Pansy thought it was wasting time to do the whole being shocked part of it all.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because if they wanted to be found they would have signed their name.  They want to remain anonymous, so we can’t assume they’re writing it.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy guessed that that made some sense.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, yeah.”  Pansy said, resting her chin on her fist as she continued to watch Hermione attempt to deduce what was going on.  She was cute when she did that, and often right so Pansy didn’t mind taking a step back so she could do what she needed to do.  After a moment Hermione sighed and looked over to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so let's go through a list of possible people.  We’ll start with the obvious ones.  Daphne?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy’s eyebrows flew up.  Sure, Daphne could be a bitch but she would never do something that could actually cause Pansy any harm or discomfort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  Merlin, she and I are practically sisters, not to mention I’m <em>so </em>not her type.  I’ve only ever seen her fawn over Blaise Zabini, and she was equally surprised and disgusted with the letter's contents.”  Pansy said and that seemed to be enough to satisfy Hermione on that front.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, well that’s one roommate down.  Tracey?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shook her head.  Tracey was almost as unlikely as Daphne, when Pansy had told her about it she looked ready to kill someone on her behalf.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.  Hopelessly in love with some Ravenclaw boy.”  Pansy said and Hermione nodded, and she stopped to think for a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Millicent?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shook her head again.  She didn’t think it was anyone in her dorm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin no!  She’ll never say it to you but she really likes us together.”  Pansy said, pulling her knees to her chest for a moment before letting her legs fold down into a cross-legged position.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay so that covers roommates.  Theo?”  Hermione asked and Pansy thought for a moment.  That didn’t really seem like something he would do.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so, he knows I’m gay.”  She pointed out, and Hermione raised an eyebrow and put her hand on Pansy’s thigh, prompting her to look over.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you certain it couldn’t be him.”  Hermione asked softly, and Pansy nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty sure.”  She said and Hermione thought again for a couple of moments.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco?”  Hermione asked and Pansy tried and failed to hide her laughter.  She couldn’t even imagine Draco sending her those kind of letters, not even during her fake relationship.  Merlin, that was funny.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin </em>no!  He’s-I mean, he and I are just friends, nothing more.”  Pansy said, careful to catch herself so she didn’t say that he was gay.  Hermione did seem satisfied with that though, and leaned back on her palms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright…  Now I hate to say this but given the fact that you have punched him in the face, could it be Goyle messing with you?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy was starting to get a bit bored of this.  So they may never find out who did it, that’s fine… it’ll probably stop tomorrow anyways so she wasn’t incredibly worried.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean I wouldn’t rule it out, but he’s also not that clever.  Neither is Crabbe.”  Pansy said in a bored voice and Hermione didn’t seem to pick up on it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that covers your house-.”  Pansy cut her off and put a finger under Hermione’s chin, making her look over and into her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, we are not going to sit here and go through every member of the school on </span>
  <em>
    <span>Valentines </span>
  </em>
  <span>day.  I want to spend it with you.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione looked a little bit surprised by this, and Pansy didn’t know why.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Really?”  Hermione asked and Pansy let out a small smile and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why is that such a surprise?”  Pansy asked, and she genuinely meant it.  Of course she wanted to spend Valentines day with her, it as the first Valentines day that she hadn’t completely hated.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No its just the way you said it… it was super sweet.”  Hermione said with a small smile.  Pansy’s jaw dropped and she thought of ways to defend herself because it sort of felt like some kind of a dig.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m capable of feeling that!”  Pansy said weakly and Hermione chuckled and patted her cheek gently and shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, and I love it when you’re like that.”  Hermione said and Pansy laughed softly and raised an eyebrow, leaning her head on Hermione’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you don’t love it when I’m like myself then?”  She asked and Hermione rolled her eyes </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh just shut up and come here.”  Hermione said, and Pansy took that as a cue to lean in and kiss Hermione deeply.  They were alone after all, no need for the disillusionment and silencing charms.  She felt her sigh against her lips and relaxed against Hermione, easing her back slowly against the floor, feeling Hermione’s tongue run across the seam of her lips, and she shivered, just about opening her mouth when she heard footsteps stop in front of that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Levicorpus.”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>They heard someone say, and Hermione was suddenly yanked from under Pansy and was dangling in the air by her ankle, swinging back and forth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell?!”  Hermione said, scrambling for her wand as it fell out of her sweater.  Pansy caught it and passed it to her, not having turned around to see who had cast the spell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep your hands off of her.”  She said and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She knew that voice, and to confirm it she turned on her heel and yeah, it was Hannah Abbot, which made no sense, the two girls had hardly ever interacted with each other before.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Abbot?  Abbot, put her down.”  Pansy said, trying to reason with her.  But the look on Hannah’s face was so blank that Pansy didn’t think she was in control of what she was doing right now anyways.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should I?  You’re rightfully mine.”  Hannah said, her voice sounding incredibly monotone for such an inflammatory statement with no logical backing.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay one, no I’m not I barely even know you, two I’m not crazy, ‘Mione… she’s acting off, right?”  Pansy asked and Hermione sighed and crossed her arms as best she could in her dangling position.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I’d know better if I wasn’t <em>hanging in the air!</em>”  Hermione hissed and Pansy nodded, pulling out her wand.  She had completely forgotten that she should probably do something to get Hermione down from there.  She muttered the counter-curse and Hermione came crashing down in a way that would've been painful if Pansy hadn't caught her and steadied her feet before turning back to the girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?”  Pansy asked softly, and Hermione didn’t even glance over before she responded, she kept her eyes trained on Hannah, her wand as well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ Yeah.  Hannah, what’s going on?”  Hermione asked, her voice sounding steady and even and not at all like she’d just been careening through the air a moment ago.  Pansy had to admire that, it was a rather quick recovery.  Hannah didn’t acknowledge Hermione, and instead turned her full attention to Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on is you didn’t seem to get the message from my letters.”  Hannah said, her voice still not changing tone.  Hermione’s eyebrow arched as she leaned a little closer to Pansy so she could whisper.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She is acting weird.  This isn’t… normal.  It’s not her.”  Hermione said and Pansy thought for a moment and came up with a solution that seemed to make sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay so someone put her under the imperius curse.” Pansy said, and that did seem like the most logical explanation but Hermione didn’t seem to think so.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a bit of a jump, Pans.”  Hermione said, giving her a look, and Pansy opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Hannah lifting her wand again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Expelliarmus</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hannah said, and Hermione’s wand sailed out of her hand.  Pansy turned to her with a raised eyebrow, her wand still trained on the Hufflepuff.  It didn’t make sense, for what she knew of Hannah the girl was often more gentle than this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?  When has she </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>actively sought out a fight.”  Pansy hissed and Hermione shrugged, crossing her arms.  Were they </span>
  <em>
    <span>seriously </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to argue about this right here and now?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well she was in the-.”  Pansy put up a hand to silence her and cut her off.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know she was in Dumbledore's Army, that's not what I mean.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right.  Of course you’re right.”  Hermione said, dodging another hex from Hannah.  Pansy raised an eyebrow, because that was easier then she had expected, she’d come up with a whole argument if need be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we should take her to Pompfrey?”  Pansy asked and Hermione nodded, ducking again and gave her a look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Before I’m lifted up again, preferably.”  She said, and Pansy sighed and leveled her wand, staring down it at Hannah.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said, and Hannah crumpled, hitting her head on the wall.  Well, if the stupefy didn’t leave her unconscious, the possible concussion certainly would.  Two birds with one stone, Pansy thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brilliant, help me lift her.”  Hermione said and the girls managed with a little difficulty to get her down the stairs and down to the infirmary, walking her gingerly through the entrance so as to not hit her on anything.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Madame Pomfrey!”  Pansy called and the witch looked around the corner, mouth dropping open in shock as she saw Hannah unconscious between them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What have you two girls done to her?!”  She cried and Pansy snorted because honestly, if Madame Pomfrey knew then she would </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>think this was the worst part of the whole ordeal.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“More like what someone else has done to her.  We have reason to believe she’s under the imperius curse.”  Hermione said and Pansy nodded.  Madame Pomfrey was not easily convinced of this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a mighty big accusation, where’s your proof?”  She asked and Hermione sighed as they set Hannah on a bed and turned around.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>levitated </span>
  </em>
  <span>me!  She claimed Pansy was ‘rightfully hers’ and she’s been sending inappropriate letters… but none of that is something she would do.”  Hermione said and Madame Pomfrey nodded, rubbing her chin as she thought about what had been presented to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you have your reasonings.  Who would do that?”  Madame Pomfrey asked, and Pansy shrugged, feeling a little more impatient.  They should probably take that curse off of Hannah sooner rather then later.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know!  Someone.”  Pansy said, her voice giving away how stressed she was.  She thought it was fair, she’d just seen her girlfriend hanging in the air and had had to subdue someone who was hellbent on attacking them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well obviously, but ladies I can’t take this seriously until I have a suspect.”  She said and it was as if the universe heard her in that moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Madame Pomfrey, I heard that Hannah was here?”  Pansy and Hermione turned around to see Goyle standing in the doorway, trying not to look suspicious.  Odd, to Pansy’s knowledge Goyle and Hannah hadn’t ever really interacted.  This flagged with Madame Pomfrey as well, who crossed her arms and stood in front of Hannah’s bed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how did you hear that?”  Madame Pomfrey asked, and Pansy watched Goyle flounder for a moment, looking guiltier by the second.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just… I overheard it.”  He said quickly and Hermione raised her eyebrow, taking a step forward.  Pansy could practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>the anger rolling off of her, almost as much as when she’d punched Draco in third year.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No way that's possible unless you were standing in the astronomy tower or on the stairs which you weren’t…”  Hermione said and Goyle looked stressed, like he’d just been found out.  He probably had, Pansy couldn’t tell for sure though.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I was-.”  Before Goyle could finish her sentence, Pansy pointed her wand at Goyles and cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Prior incanto.”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy muttered, and Goyle’s wand gave a ghostly image of Hannah getting put under the imperius curse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?”  Goyle said, trying to wave it off his wand.  Pansy’s jaw dropped because she had just been spitballing but the bastard had </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>done it.  Insane.  At that point </span>
  <span>madame Pomfrey ran out of the room, Pansy could only assume it was to grab one of the professors.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit… I was right.  And holy shit, you’re gonna get detention for </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>long, Goyle!”  Pansy said and the boy paled a little and turned to run, but Pansy already had her wand on him.  No way in hell was she letting him get away with this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy yelled at the same time that Hermione tackled him to the ground.  He struggled underneath her and Pansy helped Hermione pull him to a standing position.  Goyle growled and tried to shove away from them to no avail.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking hell!  Get off me you bitch!”  Goyle snarled and Pansy tightened her grip on Goyle’s arm and leaned her face next to his ear, currently not caring if she got in trouble or lost house points for this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take the curse off of Hannah.”  Pansy hissed and Goyle chuckled and struggled harder.  What a fucking dick.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should I?”  He asked and Pansy let Hermione take the next turn with a threat.  She was often better at getting specifc.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because if you don’t I will make you puke up slugs for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>month</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said through gritted teeth and Goyle stopped struggling for a moment and just hung heavy.  Pansy’s knees buckled a bit under the weight, and she was grateful Hermione was there because she was fairly certain she wouldn’t have been able to contain him all on her own.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Goyle said, and Pansy tightened her grip again.  She was going to get every answer she needed out of him, no matter how much force was necessary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’d you do it, Gregory?  It clearly wasn’t for your own enjoyment and I know you harbor none of those feelings towards me.  So what?  Was it just to make me uncomfortable?  An attempt to make my relationship unstable?”  Pansy muttered, getting angrier with every question.  Goyle gave her a grin that just screamed ‘I’m a jackass!  Punch me!’  And she nearly did, but that wouldn’t look good when Pomfrey got back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They were supposed to be Howlers.  You ruined <em>my </em>reputation, I thought I should take a nice shot at yours.”  He snarled and Pansy rasied her eyebrow.  When had she ever done that, she had no recollection of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never-.”  He cut her off quickly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You punched me in the face and I was knocked down!  Not very menacing when a <em>girl </em>can knock me down.”  Goyle pointed out, and Pansy supposed he did have a point.  That punch <em>was </em>pretty humiliating for him, which was of course part of the intent other then defending her girlfriend’s honor.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay but that doesn’t explain the-.”  He cut Pansy off before she could finish and he sneered at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve seemed like <em>such </em>a good girlfriend to Granger, you were gonna fuck it up at some point anyways, you always do.  Your mom and and dad never loved you, it’s not like you’re any good at being in a relationship.  And I realized that if I did this I could kill two birds with one stone.  I could make sure you weren’t <em>happy</em>, and I could ruin your reputation.  In one moment everyone would think you were a cheat and a liar and that you had someone on the side.  Only <em>apparently </em>the spell wasn’t strong enough, and Hannah was able to resist the Howler part of my instruction.  I knew i should’ve picked someone with the same anger level as me to complete this.”  Goyle said, and he managed to break out of Hermione’s grasp, prompting Pansy to switch her grip to more of a headlock position, making it harder for him to get away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is the meaning of this?  Granger, Parkinson!  Unhand Mr. Goyle at once and 10 points from both houses!”  Pansy heard Snape’s voice boom and she turned around to see both him and Professor McGonagall running into the infirmary but she did not loosen her grip.  McGonagall took a deep breath and leveled a glare at Snape.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Severus, don’t you think you should ask <em>why</em> Ms. Parkinson has him in a headlock?”  She asked, obviously trying and failing to sound patient.  Snape sniffed and shook his head, crossing his arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I need to, she’s been nothing but trouble this whole year.”  Snape said and Pansy had half a mind to snap back, but she stopped herself.  This wasn’t about her ego, this was about the stupid boy whose throat she had against her arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, then I’ll ask.  Ladies?”  McGonagall said and Pansy sighed and cleared her throat.  She supposed she should start the dialogue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He put Hannah Abbot under the Imperius Curse and forced her to send me </span>
  <em>
    <span>rather </span>
  </em>
  <span>inappropriate letters!”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded and took a step forward, crossing her arms and leveling her glare at Snape.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then she crashed into our date in the Astronomy tower and levitated me </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>knocked my wand out of my hand while saying something rather creepy and very out of character.  Plus he admitted it!  Madame Pomfrey heard before she went to get you guys!”  Hermione said and Pansy tried to avoid the surprised looks on both Professor's faces at the word 'date'.  They really shouldn't be shocked, she'd kissed Hermione more then once in public they just weren't paying very close attention to it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  McGonagall asked and before either of them could answer, Madame Pomfrey came breezing back into the room. not even giving the two professors a second glance before looking over Hannah.  Pansy realized in that moment she should probably mention that Hannah hit her head at some point.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Minerva.  Severus.  These two young women aren’t lying, they even brought Ms. Abbot in here because they were concerned for her health.”  Madame Pomfrey explained.  That was a far better way to say it then anything Pansy would've said.  But she did have to add one last thing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not to mention I did the reverse spell on his wand and his last incantation was the Imperius curse!”  Pansy said and Snape raised an eyebrow, huffing a bit as he crossed his arms again.  Pansy wanted to break his arms in that moment, but she kept her cool a little bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where did you learn how to do that?  And how am I supposed to believe you?”  Snape asked and Pansy took a deep breath.  She didn't want to snap... well she <em>did</em> but she knew that she shouldn't, it wasn't a good idea.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well sir, if you don’t I give you full permission to check for yourself.”  Pansy said, a little proud of how much she kept her voice level.  Snape walked over and muttered the incantation over Goyle's wand.  He seemed a little shock when the same scene played out for him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I don’t believe it.”  Snape murmured after seeing what Pansy had saw.  She nodded and wanted to say something like 'I told you so' but she knew she was already on thin ice so she didn't risk it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So he needs to reverse it.”  Pansy said and Goyle made a strangled sound from his position in Pansy's arm.  She had half a mind to tighten down so he could never make a sound again, but going to Azkaban on Valentines day didn't seem very romantic when she thought about.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know how!”  Goyle said and Pansy tightened her grip around his neck a little bit, hearing him squeak.  She didn’t mean to get so angry, she didn’t mean to make this whole thing probably worse but she just wanted to watch him struggle.  It probably wasn’t a healthy reaction, but she’d deal with that later.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious?!  You cast a curse on someone that you don’t know how to reverse?!  Merlin, I didn’t even know people could </span>
  <em>
    <span>be </span>
  </em>
  <span>this fucking stupid!”  She said through gritted teeth and she heard Snape clear his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mind your tongue, Ms. Parkinson.  Before someone else minds it for you.”  Snape snapped and Pansy rolled her eyes, and luckily McGonagall started talking before she did or else Slytherin would have lost the house cup for sure.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No matter, we can have the headmaster do it, he’s on his way down.”  McGonagall said and it was as if he was summoned, it was honestly a little bit theatrical if you asked Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need for my introduction, Minerva, I’m here.  And it will only take a second.”  Dumbledore said, rushing past all of the commotion.  Pansy never thought she’d let out a sigh of relief from the sight of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dumbledore </span>
  </em>
  <span>but he did know what to do this time around.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank Merlin.”  Pansy mumbled, and after a few minutes Dumbledore straightened back up, casting a stern look towards where Pansy was still holding Goyle so he wouldn't run off because she didn't trust he'd stay put.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When she wakes up she should be back to normal, but I want her observed here for another day or so.  And Mr. Goyle, I think you and I need to have a little chat.”  Dumbledore said, and Pansy let Goyle go so that Dumbledore could lead him out, Snape staying tight on his heels.  McGonagall turned to the two girls and cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right well, Ms. Granger if you could escort Ms. Parkinson down to the Slytherin dorms I think that would be best for now, and I expect you back in the Gryffindor tower immediately after.”  McGonagall insisted and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  That didn't make sense, and it almost felt like a punishment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not even curfew-.”  Pansy started to protest but Hermione clapped her hand quickly over Pansy's mouth with a smile cast at McGonagall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Professor McGonagall.  Have a good night.”  Hermione said, and once they were out of the infirmary, she dropped her hand off of Pansy's mouth.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did you just agree to that?  Don’t you need to get your wand?”  Pansy asked as they started walking to the dungeon together.  Hermione shrugged and sighed, reaching out to clasp Pansy’s hand as they walked, pulling them closer together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can get it before I head to my commons.  I am going to escort you back, not only because I was given a direct order but also because who knows what else Gregory convinced people to do to get back at you.”  Hermione explained and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  This had been the weirdest fucking day.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He chose an odd way, I’ll say.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione shrugged and chewed on her lip as they turned the corner to the staircase down to the dungeons.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really, it makes perfect sense.  Had that been a howler I would've been devastated, and I probably would’ve thought you knew it was going to come to you.”  She confessed and Pansy raised an eyebrow because <em>that </em>was worrying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t trust me?”  Pansy asked quietly and Hermione turned over and gave her a look of confusion as she squeezed her hand a little tighter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I trust you, it's just… its human nature to get scared about that kind of stuff, you know?”  Hermione said and Pansy was silent for a good moment.  She supposed that was true but it still hurt a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  Well I am sorry that we didn’t get to do our date, because that was what you were giving me for Valentines day, right?”  Pansy asked, hoping that was all the other girl had done.  Pansy hadn't gotten the chance to get her a gift.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I had something else too.”  Hermione said and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  When had she had the time to get her something?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?”  Pansy asked and Hermione dug out a small box from inside her cloak and pressed it into Pansy's hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.  Don’t open it until you’re in your dorm room, alright?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy chuckled and nodded, turning the small box over in her hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… okay… should I be scared?”  Pansy asked with a smirk, raising one eyebrow.  She thought it was clear she was kidding but Hermione looked actually concerned.  Fair, given the night they’d had maybe she wasn’t in the mood for jokes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!  No!”  Hermione said and Pansy rolled her eyes and squeezed the box in her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then I’ll gladly do that.”  Pansy said and Hermione sighed and nodded, looking a little nervous.  What was there to be nervous about?  Obviously Pansy was going to like whatever the gift was, she wasn't a total asshole.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have a good night Pans.”  Hermione said and Pansy nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will, you too.”  Pansy said and leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to Hermione’s lips before turning their positions so that she was standing with her back to the entrance to her common room.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you in the morning.”  Hermione said as they broke apart and Pansy grinned and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.  She looked so amazing, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>so amazing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup, love you-oh shit.”  Pansy said, clapping a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening.  Hermione looked frozen in place with those words, but she did recover first.  She cleared her throat and stood up a little straighter and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did… did you just say that?”  Hermione asked quietly and Pansy shook her head, trying to look as not freaked out as possible.  This was bad, she should not have said that, but it came out without her even thinking which wasn’t like her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Pansy said quickly and Hermione sighed and took a step closer, looking Pansy in the face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  She tried and Pansy shook her head and looked away from her.  This was the end of it, wasn’t it?  Hermione was going to break up with her for saying that, it was too soon.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-It was a slip of the tongue-.”  Pansy tried, feeling her heart might just beat out of her chest at this moment.  Hermione reached out and gently placed her hand on Pansy’s arm, and it felt like it was shocking her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“P-.”  Pansy cut Hermione off before she could say anything and turned her back to her, muttering the password to the common room and yanking it open quickly.  She had to get away, she had to put distance between them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I gotta go.  Talk to you later.  Good night!”  Pansy said quickly and ran through the common room and into her dorm, slamming the door behind her and leaning against it.  Tracey and Daphne looked at her in surprise, and it took a moment for any of them speak.  Daphne grinned and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson!  How nice of you to finally join us!  Did you find out who was sending you shit?”  Daphne asked and Pansy sighed and nodded, her brain so far from the events that had happened a few minutes ago, now all overshadowed by what she'd said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goyle to mess with me.”  Pansy mumbled and Daphne sighed and shook her head, setting her jaw.  Tracey reached over and put a hand on Daphne's shoulder to calm her down, but it didn't do much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wanker-are you okay.”  Daphne asked and Pansy shook her head.  She was not okay, this was all not okay for her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no I’m pretty fucking far from okay.”  Pansy admitted and Tracey leaned forward, raising an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?”  Tracey asked and Pansy took a deep breath.  She could talk about this, she had to to someone and it wasn't about to be to Hermione right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just told </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione Granger </span>
  </em>
  <span>that I love her.  And I didn’t even mean to!”  Pansy said, and Tracey blinked once and took a deep breath, standing up and stretching with it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well.  I'm gonna give you guys some space to talk this out."  She said, and retreated to the other side of the room.  Daphne stood up and led Pansy over to her bed and sat them both down.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay well… do you?”  Daphne asked softly and Pansy shrugged, running her fingers through her hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know!  I’ve never been in love before!  I know she makes me feel happy… and I don’t know, it just came out!”  Pansy said, very aware of the fact that she was talking far too fast right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you two at least talk about it?”  Daphne asked and Pansy shook her head.  Merlin, she didn't even know how that would sound! 'Hey sorry I said I love you it kind of just came out'.  That just seemed like an unnatural way to say things.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, no!  I ran in here after saying it was a slip of the tongue, what was I supposed to say after that?  It was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>awkward</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”  Pansy said, wringing her hands.  Daphne sighed and rubbed her temples before looking at Pansy out of one eye.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to talk to her about it.”  Daphne insisted, but Pansy didn't agree.  She didn't <em>have </em>to do anything, it was just a better idea to do something about it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or!  I could avoid her until it blows over, she’s bound to forget in a day or two.”  Pansy reasoned and Daphne smacked the back of her head, causing Pansy to wince.  She sometimes wondered if her friend even knew her own strength.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s your </span>
  <em>
    <span>girlfriend</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you cannot and should not be avoiding her!”  Daphne scolded and Pansy flinched away.  She knew that, she did but that didn't change the way she felt right now.  It wasn't something she was comfortable with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…” Pansy murmured, fiddling with the box in her hand.  She wanted to know what was inside but also... should she even open it if she wasn't sure how Hermione actually responded to what she'd said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's that in your hand?”  Daphne asked and Pansy held it up and swallowed heavily.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her gift to me.  Should I open it?”  Pansy asked and Daphne gave her a look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you absolute dumbass!”  Daphne said and Pansy nodded.  Of course she should.  She opened the box and gasped at the intricate locket in the box, maroon and gold and <em>so </em>clearly a nod to Gryffindor but Pansy didn't care.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  I-I don’t know where she got this from.”  Pansy said, turning the locket over in her hand and looking at the back.  Hermione had had three words engraved in the back, but they weren’t in english.  It said ‘lux vitae meae’, which Pansy was fairly certain was latin.  When the hell had Hermione had the time to learn latin?  And to get a locket engraved.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to wear a gold and red locket?  One that so clearly screams ‘Gryffindor’?”  Daphne asked, curling her lip up in a little bit of disgust.  Pansy nodded and held it tighter in her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I’m gonna wear it!  She bought it for me.”  Pansy said, and Daphne sighed and ran a hand through her hair and leaned a little bit closer to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there a photo inside?”  Daphne asked and she shrugged, popping open the locket and gasping a little bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my-there is.”  Pansy said, feeling a smile stretch across her face as she stared at the photo inside.  It was one from the burrow, and Hermione was wearing Pansy’s sweater with her face half hidden inside the collar.  Ginny must have taken that after Pansy left.  Something about seeing Hermione that casual, that… soft made her heart ache a little bit.  It shouldn’t be possible for someone to be that beautiful without even trying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I see it?”  Daphne asked and Pansy nodded, passing her the locket.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  She said and Daphne looked at the picture and chuckled in disbelief, shaking her head as she handed it back to Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I never thought I’d say it but… you’ve somehow landed the </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect</span>
  </em>
  <span> girl.”  Daphne said and Pansy smiled a little bit at that. She really was perfect.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that.”  She said without hesitation and Daphne looked at her with a pained expression.  She was trying so hard to be gentle that it was almost funny, at least in Pansy's opinon.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So why can’t you admit that you love her?”  Daphne asked and Pansy shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need time.  To come to terms with the idea of that, it’s not something I’m used to… actual love?  I’m pretty sure the only people I can say that I actually love are you and Tracey, you two are practically my family.  But the thought of saying something like that to another person, saying they have a part of my heart?  It’s horrifying.”  Pansy confessed.  The thought of loving people felt... wrong.  Like something she wasn't allowed to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you’re scared, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try?"  Daphne asked.  Pansy thought about all the times that her father had said she was a disappointment, that her mother had refused to say that she loved her... they were right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It does.”  Pansy said quietly and Daphne put a firm hand on her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  You’ve been through hell this year, don’t you think you deserve a little happiness?  And love?”  Daphne asked gently and Pansy thought for a moment before shaking her head.  She didn't deserve any of it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Pansy said quietly and Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I do.  Give it some thought, and don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>avoid her, I’ll make sure you don’t because you need to talk about this.”  Daphne sighed, rubbing Pansy's back.  Pansy leaned away from her and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, goodnight.”  Pansy sighed, running a hand through her hair.  Daphne nodded and stood up, sighing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Parkinson.  Happy Valentines day.”  Daphne said, dropping a kiss on top of Pansy’s head before walking over to her bed.  But Pansy couldn’t sleep well that night, she was too busy thinking about what she’d said.  Once she finally got to sleep, she tossed and turned with dreams of Hermione yelling at her for moving too fast.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She’d successfully avoided having any confrontation with Hermione over the last two days, and if she could just make it to tonight without having to deal with what she said then she could maybe handle it over the weekend.  Only issue:  Pansy was walking right past Hermione right now, and she did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>look pleased.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy Parkinson.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Hermione said firmly and Pansy couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.  She closed her eyes and took a moment before turning around with a large fake smile, rubbing the back of her neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hey.  Didn’t uh, didn’t see you there.”  Pansy lied, and Hermione shook her head and crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s bullshit and you know it.  Why are you avoiding me?”  Hermione asked and Pansy let out an unconvincing chuckle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Avoiding you?  I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>avoiding </span>
  </em>
  <span>you.”  She lied and Hermione sighed and raised an eyebrow, clearly a little more than annoyed at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why haven’t I seen you since Valentine's day?  You blew off our normal study date last night.”  Hermione hissed and Pansy cleared her throat.  She supposed that </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>pretty incriminating evidence...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was busy, Daphne-.”  Hermione squinted and crossed her arms, effectively shutting Pansy up.  She was a little intimidating when she was mad.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was in the library, and was surprised that you weren’t with me.”  Hermione said, her voice eerily calm.  Pansy sensed she was probably in some sort of danger, and with good reason she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>avoiding her girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…”  Pansy said carefully, and Hermione took a deep breath, closing her eyes.  It was clear she was trying to dispel her irritation, and it mostly worked from what Pansy could tell because Hermione looked so open and vulnerable when she opened her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, what's going on?  Do you… do you need a break from me?”  Hermione asked quietly and Pansy widened her eyes and shook her head.  She could see why Hermione might think that but it wasn’t the truth.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, no!  No, that’s not what this is.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione chewed on her lip, obviously thinking deeply before she took a deep breath</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this about what you said on-.”  Pansy cleared her throat to interrupt Hermione and glanced around, rubbing the back of her neck.  She had to figure out how to get out of this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, look at that, I’m gonna be late… gotta go-</span>
  <em>
    <span>oof</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said, the breath knocked out of her as Hermione grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back, effectively knocking her on her ass.  She knelt down next to Pansy, who had a momentary thought of hexing her before deciding that wasn’t healthy to do to her girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice try.  Now you are going to sit here and we are going to talk about what happened because that's the only way this relationship is going to work is if we communicate.  You know that.”  Hermione said in a low voice, not relinquishing her grip on Pansy’s collar as they both slowly rose to her feet.  Oddly enough, it was easier to talk about it with her back to Hermione.  Maybe because she could handle the possible rejection better if she couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, I know what I said was jarring and probably way too soon and I don’t even know if I feel that way or if I just said it.  I completely understand that you probably don’t feel that way about me and-.”  Hermione turned her around and placed one hand on each of her shoulders, effectively silencing her for a moment as she smiled up.  Pansy swallowed heavily and looked up at the ceiling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  Calm down.  I can’t be a part of this conversation if you don’t let me speak.” Hermione said, and Pansy took a deep breath and nodded, rubbing her palms together as she tried to get rid of her nervous energy. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”  Pansy muttered and Hermione chewed on her lip, her brows furrowing.  Pansy couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about so intensely<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How closely did you look at that locket I got you?”  Hermione asked softly and Pansy sighed and shrugged, palming the locket that was around her neck.  She was very careful to keep track of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have it on right now, haven’t taken it off since you gave it to me.”  She muttered, and she didn’t miss the way that Hermione smiled at that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the inscription?”  Hermione asked and Pansy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  This is what she’d expected from dating a genius, cryptic gifts with impossible explanations.  Like seriously, what was she supposed to do, learn <em>latin</em> overnight?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's something in Latin, I can’t read Latin ‘Mione.”  Pansy said and Hermione chuckled and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So do you want a translation?”  She asked and Pasny <em>was </em>a little irritated at her amusement because it wasn’t funny.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Sure.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione reached up and turned the locket over, running her fingers over the etched in words.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It means light of my life, which honestly… I think you are the light of my life, sure you can be an asshole but overall you make everything a bit better.  Now, how closely did you look at that photo?”  Hermione asked and Pansy was confused by that because she’d looked at the photo, that's really all you can <em>do</em> with a photo!<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s from the burrow, I could tell that much.”  Pansy said, furrowing her brows.  What else was she supposed to say, it's not like she could infer <em>much </em>from the picture.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you taken it out?”  Hermione asked.  Why would she have done that?  Who <em>does </em>that when the photo is in the locket already, clearly that's where it's supposed to be, Pansy thought to herself.  But she could think of a nicer way to say that, she probably should, considering the proper mess she’d made of everything the past couple days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t want to risk losing it.”  Pansy said, and that wasn’t a <em>lie </em>it just wasn’t what she had initially thought of.  She also did think it was an odd question, if she had removed the photo from the locket.  Hermione held out her hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give it here.”  Hermione said and Pansy raised her eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked and Hermione took a deep breath and gave her a significant look, holding her hand a little higher.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Pansy</em>.”  Hermione instructed and she sighed and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…”  She said, trailing off as she took off the locket and handed it to Hermione, who took the photo out and held it between two fingers, making sure to look Pansy in the eye.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See how when I hold it, the back of the photo says nothing?”  Hermione asked and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She thought that was pretty clear, the back of the photo was just paper, like every photo.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously…”  Pansy said, and she started to wonder if maybe Hermione was losing her mind.  Or if a spell had backfired and was making her act off or something.  She sighed and pushed the photo a little bit away from her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take it.”  Hermione said and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Pansy said, getting a little bit more confused, but Hermione nodded and held it out to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold it.  Now.”  Hermione instructed and Pansy took the photo out of her hand and watched as words started appearing on the back of it.  They were small, so she had to squint but once she did, her face got hot.  There, in Hermione’s handwriting were three words... ‘I love you’.  Holy shit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Hermione-.”  Pansy started, and she was sort of glad that Hermione had cut her off because she had no idea what she was supposed to say right now and she wasn’t in the mood for fucking this up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was excited when you said you loved me, albeit a little bit surprised but overall I was just… happy.  But then you freaked out and avoided me for over a day so now I don’t know what to think and-.”  Pansy cupped her cheeks and kissed her quickly before resting their foreheads together.  It was the only surefire way to make sure that Hermione didn’t keep spiraling in that moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you talk so much.”  Pansy murmured, trying to ignore the large smile that was stretching across her face in front of the prying eyes of people walking down the hallway.  For the moment, she didn’t care if what little reputation she had left was in jeopardy.  Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes, running her hands up and down Pansy’s arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rude.”  She said, and Pansy took a deep breath and moved her head back, running a hand through her hair because this was a <em>lot</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I think I do love you, but I don’t… Merlin, this is going to sound stupid… I’ve never been in love before so I don’t know.  I know I want to love you, I want to be around you and something about you just… draws me in and it's like my heart is warm?  Like I feel like there's fire in my chest when I’m around you.”  Pansy said, the words rushing out of her before she could stop them.  Hermione blinked and nodded, clearly digesting all of it before she was going to respond, which was wise.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a very… thorough definition.”  Hermione said, swallowing heavily.  Pansy didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she couldn’t exactly take back the words now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do I know if I’m in love?”  Pansy asked, and she genuinely wanted to know.  She wanted to be in love with Hermione, she needed to know if what she was feeling was <em>that </em>or just… an onslaught of other emotions.  Hermione simply shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just kind of… know.  It’s like saying it is almost instinctual, you don’t even have to think about it you just </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, and Pansy thought for a moment.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>said that she loved her without a second thought, so maybe this was love.  Or maybe she just had lacked her normal mental stops from the draining night they had had.  The first one was better though, so she’d run with it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's what it felt like when I said it, it just came out.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked down, fiddling with her fingers.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you regret it?”  Hermione asked quietly and Pansy was quick to shake her head.  It wasn’t what she said that she had regretted, just the way she had actually ended up saying it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I just regretted the fact that I probably freaked you out.”  Pansy confessed and Hermione let out a small sigh of relief and ran a hand through her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So is it such a stretch to think that maybe you meant it.”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged.  She probably did mean it, but have you ever tried working through the mental blocks of parents that never showed you love?  Total mind fuck, ruins everything, Pansy wouldn’t wish that on anyone, even her worst enemy.  Well… <em>maybe </em>her worst enemy, but she’d feel shitty about </span>
  <span>it… eventually.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that I probably meant it I just… I don’t want to be wrong, I don’t want to hurt you.”  Pansy said and Hermione chuckled and rubbed her arm.  Why was she laughing?  Nothing about this was funny...<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling, I’ve been through a lot, I think I can handle this.”  Hermione said softly and Pansy sighed.  She needed Hermione to know that she shouldn’t feel obligated to deal with it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… But-.”  Hermione shook her head and cut her off.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  She said firmly and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  No to what?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No?”  Pansy asked and Hermione put a hand lightly on her arm before speaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not letting you give me an out again.  You do that all the time and if I wanted to get out, I would be out, alright?”  Hermione said, reaching up to gently rest a hand on her cheek.  Pansy sighed and leaned into the touch for a moment before grasping her hand and pushing it down.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, I’m-.”  Pansy stopped, trying to think about the right word.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damaged?”  Hermione offered and Pansy leveled a glare at her and crossed her arms.  She didn’t need to say that so <em>readily</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t going to say <em>that</em>.”  Pansy huffed, and Hermione chuckled and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you were going to say you weren’t good enough for me, I know that.  But you are, alright?” Hermione said and she really did want to fight her on that.  Pansy wasn’t a good person by any measure, even if she was trying to get better, she knew that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione smiled and hopped up a bit, leaving a gentle kiss on Pansy’s cheek before she started to walk away.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll see you after class and um… I love you.” Hermione called over her shoulder and Pansy felt glued to her spot.  She wanted to say it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione?”  She called and Hermione stopped moving and turned around, raising an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  Hermione asked and Pansy took a second, taking a deep breath.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.”  Pansy said, and she definitely loved the way that Hermione’s smile grew even wider, and the way that she seemed to have an extra spring in her step as she walked off to class.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy didn’t skip her study date with Hermione, even though she </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>could’ve, she didn’t have all that much work.  She was actually… reading ahead.  Merlin, what has dating Granger done to her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione?  Would you mind coming with me for a moment?”  Pansy was interrupted from her reading by the sound of Ron’s voice.  Hermione sighed and slipped her hand out of Pansy’s as she turned around in her chair, an eyebrow raised.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ron, I’m a little busy right now, yeah?”  She said gently and Ron looked at her with a pleading expression that sort of made Pansy want to break his nose.  But she decided that probably wasn’t the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best </span>
  </em>
  <span>response to have in the moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please?  It’s important.”  Ron said, and Pansy leaned forward, kissing Hermione’s cheek before resting her chin on her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, ‘Mione.  I’ve got this.”  Pansy murmured, because she knew part of the reason Hermione </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>going was she didn’t want to leave her alone, even though Pansy studied alone for years, it wasn’t a big deal.  Hermione sighed and nodded, standing up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright… I’ll be right back, love.”  Hermione said, leaning down to press a soft kiss on the top of Pansy’s head.  It was a sweet gesture and Pansy leaned a little closer to her book as her face got hot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She mumbled, trying to seem unaffected.  But that’s really not all that possible when your girlfriend is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione Granger</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Even if a year ago she would’ve thrown up on principle at the thought of dating her.  But she’d probably thought she was pretty, at least on a subconscious level, for at least two years, so she shouldn’t be all that shock-</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin, </span>
  </em>
  <span>sorry about that.”  Pansy’s thoughts were interrupted by Hermione coming back and sinking into her chair.  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s all good.  What’d Weasley want?”  Pansy asked, glancing up and Hermione shook her head and let out a long breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He needed me to proofread his essay really quickly.”  Hermione said quickly and Pansy was a little confused.  She had been gone for </span>
  <em>
    <span>max </span>
  </em>
  <span>five minutes, there was no way she had proofread an entire essay in that time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re already done doing that?”  She asked, raising an eyebrow and Hermione rubbed her temples and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Considering he and Harry had the exact same one, word for word, all I had to do was just tell him to rewrite it.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She didn’t blame Ron for trying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, at least he tried.”  Pansy said in a bored voice, fiddling with her quill.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, smacking her shoulder lightly.  Pansy rubbed the spot and shot her a glare.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  If I had a best friend to copy of off I totally would!  I hate writing Defense essays, they suck.”  Pansy said and Hermione rolled her eyes and sank deeper into her chair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well now I’m gonna watch you even closer when you write your essays.”  Hermione grumbled, and Pansy shrugged.  It wasn’t like it’d ever happen, she stated she didn’t have a friend to copy off of easily.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t say I was going to do it, I don’t have the ability to.  Daphne would never let that happen.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey might.”  Hermione said and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She’d make more progress copying off a first year, Defense just wasn’t Tracey’s strong suit.  Now Divination, that would be a good one to copy off of Tracey for, she thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey is failing Defense.  I’m opportunistic, not stupid.”  Pansy said knowingly and Hermione thought for a moment and nodded.  She started to gather her things and stood up, looking down at Pansy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair point.  Willing to walk me back to the Gryffindor tower?”  Hermione asked, holding out her hand, and Pansy flashed her a quick smile and took the outstretched hand, pulling herself to her feet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”  She said, and left their hands linked as they walked out of the library.  They were silent for a little bit of the walk before Hermione cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… you’re sure that you love me?”  Hermione asked quietly and Pansy took a deep breath.  Can someone ever really be sure of anything in the world?  Especially nowadays with the darkness lurking around every corner.  Pansy pushed those thoughts out of her head and squeezed Hermione’s hand softly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fairly certain, yes.”  Pansy said and Hermione seemed satisfied with that answer and nodded, training her eyes forward again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.  There was no pressure on that, alright?”  Hermione said and Pansy nodded.  Even if there wasn’t, she still would’ve responded quickly, it only felt right.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, doesn’t make me want to give an answer any less, love.”  Pansy explained and she nodded, sighing.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get it, I do.”  Hermione said and Pansy let out a long breath and nodded, looking forward for a moment before glancing down.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re definitely the first person I’ve felt like this about, that’s for sure.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked at her with some confusion in her features.  Why was she surprised?  When had Pansy <em>ever </em>shown real interest in anyone?  It should be a given.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged. She didn’t exactly know what she meant, but she could give a few offhand examples.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never wanted to be a better person for someone, pretty sure that if someone asked me to I’d tell them to fuck right off… but you just make me want to be a bit better.  I want to deserve you, and I feel like if I wasn’t trying to better myself… I wouldn’t.” Pansy said and Hermione was silent for a moment.  Oh Merlin, was that too much?  Pansy prepared herself to run the other way when Hermione started talking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like you the way you are.”  She insisted and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She did <em>not </em>mean that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but did you like that version of me that wouldn’t stop people from saying slurs and used to bully you?” Pansy asked with an arched brow and Hermione grimaced and chewed on her lip before answering.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, not in <em>so </em>many words-.” Pansy cut her off and nodded.  She had known that going in, she just wanted Hermione to openly admit it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.  If I hadn’t changed my views I would not deserve this relationship.”  Pansy said plainly and Hermione chuckled and crossed her arms, looking down at the ground.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did find you attractive before you changed your views though, just so you know.”  Hermione said quietly and Pansy looked over with a smirk.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Pansy asked and she noted that Hermione looked <em>supremely </em>embarrassed about that fact.  Brilliant.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin.  <em>Yes</em>.  It scared me, honestly.  You were the first girl I found attractive and of all the girls I could think were hot I had to think <em>you</em> were hot and imagine doing things with <em>you </em>and I felt like if you found out you were going to hold it over my head until the day I died.”  Hermione confessed and Pansy felt her face get hot because that was the first time Hermione had used the word <em>hot </em>to describe her, at least that she could remember.  Pansy cleared her throat and took a deep breath before talking, making sure she seemed calm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, maybe in the past.”  Pansy said, and she was only trying to be honest, but it rewarded her with a heavy smack to the back of her head and she winced and rubbed the spot as Hermione glared at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Pansy</em>.”  Hermione huffed and Pansy chuckled and leaned down, quickly pressing a kiss to the side of Hermione’s head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just being honest!”  Pansy insisted and Hermione rolled her eyes and looked up at her, the annoyance already gone from her face.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know but… still.”  Hermione said, and they turned the corner up to the Gryffindor tower, coming to a stop in front of the portrait.  Pansy wasn’t sure if she should kiss her, any old Gryffindor could walk out of that portrait, even a first year and she really didn’t want anyone to say anything.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay um… goodnight.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded, leaning up to kiss Pansy’s cheek lightly.  Okay, so she <em>could’ve </em>kissed her, but it seemed a little lat enow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, night.”  She said, and she looked like she was mulling something over, probably something she had to do once she was inside.  Pansy turned on her heel to leave, but was stopped by a hand on her elbow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy wait.”  Hermione said and Pansy turned around and raised her eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked, and Hermione glanced up and down the hallway before speaking.  Now what could she possibly be wanting privacy to ask, Pansy thought.  It’s not like anyone was <em>listening. </em><br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How willing are you to sneak in?”  Hermione asked, chewing on her lip.  Pansy snorted and shook her head because she found it rather hard to sneak anywhere, she had a rather distinctive look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sneak</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  I am tall and pale and wearing the wrong uniform for your house, I stick out like a sore thumb.”  Pansy said, actually very amused by the thought of doing that.  She would get caught, and also she didn’t quite get why she had to sneak, she’d been in the Gryffindor common room before.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pull your cloak over your head and crouch, I think I can get you through.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy chuckled and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and she watched as Hermione shifted back and forth uncomfortably and swallowed heavily.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just… want to spend more time with you.”  She mumbled and Pansy considered it for a moment.  Yeah, that was a good enough reason.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright…”  Pansy sighed, pulling her cloak over her head and grasping Hermione’s hand again, letting her lead her through the common room.  Or </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost </span>
  </em>
  <span>through the common room.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione!  Hey, come here!”  Pansy heard someone yell, but she couldn’t quite make out who was saying it under the slight noise cancellation that the cloak over her head provided to her.  But she could deduce that it was probably Harry or Ron.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, really tired!  I’m just going to go to bed!”  Hermione called, and Pansy chuckled because this </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to look suspicious, she was leading a person who was hiding in their cloak, like did this register as normal to Hermione?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… alright.  Feel better!”  The person said back, and Pansy felt Hermione pull on her hand again, and she followed the girl blindly until they stopped again.  Pansy kept her cloak up because she didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>if she could take it down yet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you can take your cloak down.”  Hermione said with a chuckle and she pulled it back down Pansy’s back to have it sitting in the right spot.  Pansy gave her an annoyed look and flattened her hair back down, and was going to say something about it when she realized they were not alone in the room, and that she was getting sized up by Lavender and Parvarti.  Again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh um… hi.”  Pansy mumbled, pretending like she didn’t see the two girls give each other a knowing look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>word </span>
  </em>
  <span>out of either of you, yeah?” Hermione warned, pointing a finger at either of them.  They both nodded, but the smirk on their faces said otherwise and that worried Pansy quite a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, our lips are sealed.  It’s nice to see you without your nose buried in a book, good for you.  And hello Pansy.”  Lavender said, and Pansy was a little surprised by the slightly warm greeting, considering what she’d gotten last time was a little bit hostile.  She cleared her throat and gave a tight, uncomfortable smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  She said and Lavender leaned forward with her chin on her hands, arching an eyebrow.  Pansy did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>like the smile on her face, it reminded her of how Daphne smiled right before she did something that Pansy was going to hate.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doing well?”  She asked and Pansy took a step back.  Yeah, all of her danger receptors were going off.  This was the most civil she and Lavender had ever really been and it felt very forced.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well enough, yeah.”  Pansy responded and Lavender leaned back and nodded, and Pansy worked to veil the sigh of relief that she was no longer basically staring into her soul.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very good, very good.  Well, carry on.”  She said and turned back to Parvarti, restarting their conversation</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.”  Pansy said, knowing her voice sounded awkward as she shuffled a little closer to the edge of Hermione’s bed.  Hermione was still setting her things down and getting things settled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Silencing charm!  Make sure you cast one, please!”  Parvati called and Hermione turned around and probably flipped them off, if Lavender and Parvarti’s amused reactions were anything to go off of.  Pansy felt her face get hot and she rubbed the back of her neck.  Was it a little bit uncomfortable to have Hermione’s roommates speculating on their sexual lives?  Yeah.  Would Daphne and Tracey do the same thing?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Absolutely.   </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was just different when it wasn’t her friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, Hermione.  Didn’t know you had that in you.”  Lavender teased and Hermione huffed and sat down on her bed as Pansy sat down at the foot of her bed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!  Both of you!”  Hermione said, and slammed her bed curtains shut as Pansy settled herself on Hermione’s bed.  She needed to ask, she needed to clarify if this was just to hang out or if Hermione’s motive was to </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>get her in bed.  She cleared her throat and looked up from her lap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we?”  Pansy asked, her throat feeling a little dry.  Hermione looked at her with a raised eyebrow and Pansy <em>really </em>hoped her heart wasn’t pounding as loud to everyone else as it was to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we what?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged, leaning a little bit closer so that she could speak a little quieter.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Going to need to cast a silencing charm.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione flushed a little bit, clearing her throat as she looked away from her.  Oh.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That depends.”  She responded and Pansy felt like she was seconds away from passing out right now.  That would not be a good way to spend the night, blacked out from shock in her girlfriend’s bed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On?”  Pansy asked, feeling like she might vibrate out of her skin at this point, faintness fully passed.  Hermione shrugged and faked a cough as she leaned back on her hands.  Clearly Pansy wasn’t the only one trying to fake being cool right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On... if you <em>want </em>to do anything of that… nature.”  Hermione said, and Pansy realized that she was <em>carefully </em>avoiding the word sex, which was adorable but unnecessary.  She was 16, it wasn’t a foreign concept to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione.”  Pansy said, putting a light hand on her shoulder.  Hermione looked over at her and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked and Pansy leaned a little closer to her before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can say the word sex, its not a bad word.”  Pansy said with a small smirk.  It was funny to watch Hermione squirm a bit, she still had that side of her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Fine</em>.  If you want to have sex.” Hermione said and Pansy took a deep breath.  She hadn’t expected that to sound so good coming out of her mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do but-.”  Hermione sighed and cut her off, raising her hand up a bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re scared you’re pushing me.”  Hermione said, and honestly Pansy was starting to wonder if this girl knew how to do Legilimency, because that was the only logical explanation for how she was able to know what she was going to say all the time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Yeah.”  She responded and Hermione shook her head.  Oh.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not.”  Hermione insisted.  <em>Oh</em>.  Pansy wasn’t expecting this, any of it.  But she also wasn’t <em>complaining.</em><br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?”  Pansy asked, wanting to give her one last out.   Hermione sighed and smirked, nodding.  <em>Merlin</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  I’m sure.”  Hermione said and Pansy’s heart leapt in her chest.  Was this seriously happening?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“O-Okay.”  Pansy said, very aware of how much her voice had just cracked.  Hermione leaned over and kissed her softly, and Pansy willed herself to relax into it, and she brought her hand up to the nape of Hermione’s neck, playing with the hair there.  Hermione pulled away all too soon, and Pansy made a noise of annoyance, and opened her eyes.  Hermione was sliding out of the bed, which caused a moment of panic in her because… had she already done something wrong, she couldn’t quite tell.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just have to grab something, so stay here.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy nodded, scooting back so she was resting against one of the posts of the bed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it.” She said, honestly to no one because Hermione was already gone to grab whatever the hell she’d forgotten.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Chapter 31</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Pansy woke up first the next morning, and she was so glad that she did because looking at Hermione sleeping was… indescribable.  And it felt achingly intimate, watching the soft intakes of breath and the way she sighed a little bit every now and again.  Also… it gave Pansy time to think through how she was going to get out of here without being found out.</p><p>“Pansy you’re staring.”  Hermione grumbled, her voice rough from sleep and that went through Pansy like a lightning bolt.  Okay, good to know, Hermione Granger’s morning voice is <em> hot.  </em> Unfairly so.  She swallowed heavily and ran a hand through her hair before responding.</p><p>“I… I know that.”  Pansy said, feeling her face heat up a bit.  She didn’t mean to get caught… although at the same time she didn’t really care, she was allowed to stare at her girlfriend… especially after last night.  Hermione stretched up and yawned, opening one eye before shifting so that she was facing Pansy.</p><p>“Why?”  She asked, and tucked her face against Pansy’s neck, wrapping her arms tight around her waist</p><p>“Mostly because I have no idea how I’m going to get out of here without being seen…  And everyone’s gonna know what happened-.”  Pansy started and Hermione shook her head.  But how would they <em> not </em> know.  People snuck out of other people’s dorms all the time.  Back when Pansy used to wake up early to read in the common room she’d seen her fair share of people and been sworn to secrecy.  She never kept that promise.</p><p>“No they aren’t, a lot of people are fairly oblivious when they want to be.  Trust me, they’ll want to be.  Just walk with purpose, no one’s gonna stop you.  And if they do just glare… you can look pretty mean when you want to.”  Hermione mumbled against her skin and Pansy’s jaw dropped open and she laughed in disbelief.  Alright, noted.  Hermione is <em> insanely </em> honest when she’s just waking up.  Pansy honestly loved it.</p><p>“Hey!”  She said, faking hurt even as the smile spread a little bit more over her face.  Hermione blindly reached up and patted Pansy’s cheek, lacking her normal coordination and accidentally hitting her eye a little bit.</p><p>“No, no.  I like it.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy chuckled and burrowed back down a bit in the bed, feeling Hermione shift from having her face tucked in her neck to resting on her chest.  Pansy stared at the top of the tapestry, running her fingers through Hermione’s hair.  She quite liked waking up next to her, Pansy had decided.  One of the big reasons is yes, Hermione is warm all the time but she’s especially warm in the morning, which is great because Pansy is normally <em> freezing </em> .  That might also have to do with the Slytherin dorms being under the lake, but no matter.  She was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of <em> someone </em> shifting around a bit and she stiffened, unwillingly removing her arm from around Hermione as she sat up.  Because yeah, people in <em> this </em>dorm knew she was here but she didn’t exactly want a confrontation with anyone else considering her last time here had ended up with Hermione decking someone.</p><p>“Shit, people are waking up… I should go.”  Pansy murmured, and went to stand, but Hermione held fast onto her, crinkling her eyebrows.</p><p>“Five more minutes.”  She whispered pleadingly and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  Merlin, she was cute in the morning.</p><p>“<em> Hermione Jean Granger </em> .”  Pansy said, a little bit firmer and Hermione crinkled her brows and sighed, untangling their limbs.</p><p>“Right.  Right, you need to get back to the Slytherin dorms.”  Hermione sighed, and yawned, closing her eyes again.  Pansy bent down and kissed her softly, careful to keep her mouth shut because she wasn’t <em> entirely </em> sure how horrible her morning breath was.</p><p>“I’ll see you later.”  Pansy whispered and turned around, quickly pulling on her skirt and buttoning up her shirt.  She reached down to the ground and squinted.  Why had they put all their clothes in the same place, it was still dark enough that she couldn’t quite tell which tie was which so she went on her intuition and grabbed the one on the left.</p><p>“Hey.”  Hermione said, and Pansy looked over to see the other girl staring at her, a small smile on her face.  Pansy’s heart skipped a bit because it should be impossible for someone to look that beautiful right in the morning.  It should not be allowed.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sat up a little bit more, resting the side of her head on her hand.</p><p>“I love you.”  She whispered, and Pansy smiled and bent down again to press a kiss to Hermione’s temple.</p><p>“I love you too, darling.”  Pansy said and Hermione held her there for a moment</p><p>“See you later?”  Hermione asked and Pansy nodded.  Of course she would, Hermione didn’t even have to ask.</p><p>“Absolutely.”  Pansy said, and Hermione dropped back onto her bed and turned over.  Good, she needed rest, Pansy thought.  She snuck quietly out of the common room and sped walked down the corridors of the castle, somehow avoiding any and all prefects who were patrolling right now much to her relief.  She whispered the password, and the dungeon swung open, letting her in, and she let out a little breath of relief.</p><p>“Sneaking in?”  Someone said behind her, and Pansy jumped about a foot in the air before turning around to see a very rumpled Harry.  Well, she thought, good for Draco.  Also people <em> had </em> to know now, right?  He’d literally brought Harry into his dorm...</p><p>“Merlin, Potter!  Wear a bell or something, damn!”  Pansy growled, willing her heart to stop beating too fast.  It was too early to be snuck up on.  Harry held up his hands in defense and flashed her an apologetic smile.</p><p>“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.  Spent the night with Hermione?”  Harry asked, and it was <em> worse </em> that she could pick up that he actually wanted to know.  Pansy sucked in a breath of air and willed her face to <em> not </em> get hot.  It didn’t work.</p><p>“.... Mhm.”  She mumbled and Harry chuckled quietly.</p><p>“Wow, she was right, you <em> do </em> flush fast.”  Harry said, the amusement clear in his voice.  Pansy’s jaw dropped and he shoved Harry lightly.</p><p>“No I don’t!  Shut up, you wanker!”  Pansy said, trying to keep her voice from going up or cracking, which was difficult when her throat was still a little rough from sleep.  Harry chuckled and nodded.</p><p>“Right, well… I actually will be doing that because I’ve gotta run.  See you around, Parkinson.”  Harry said, turning to go, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She was warming up to him, for Draco’s sake, but he was still sometimes a little too… <em> Harry </em> for her.</p><p>“Yeah, whatever.”  She mumbled, and started off towards her dorm when she heard someone clear their throat.  Merlin, was Potter still not gone?</p><p>“Wait, Pansy!”  He called.  And no, he wasn’t gone.  She turned around and raised her eyebrow.</p><p>“Whats up, Golden boy?”  Pansy asked, flipping her hair out of her collar, and Harry pointed down at the tie dangling around Pansy’s neck with a knowing smirk on his face.</p><p>“You’ve got the wrong tie on.”  Harry said plainly and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  How could she have the wrong… shit. Right.  She and Hermione put their clothes on the same side.</p><p>“What?”  She asked and Harry sighed and held out his hand.</p><p>“The wrong tie.  You must’ve grabbed one of Hermione’s.  Just give it here, I’ll have her bring you the right one later.”  Harry responded and Pansy nodded and loosened the tie to pull it over her head.</p><p>“Oh um… thanks, Potter.”  She mumbled, pressing it into his hand.  He shoved it in his cloak and nodded.</p><p>“Mhm.”  He said and turned to finally leave.  <em> That </em> had been an encounter she wasn’t counting on.  Pansy crept towards her dorm, careful to not make too much sound in the hallway before creaking her dorm door open and cursing the old hinges as she let it fall shut behind her.  She made it about halfway to her bed before a cold hand was on her shoulder.</p><p>“Where were you?”  Pansy let out a tiny squeak and turned around to see she was face to face with Daphne, who looked like she’d just woken up.  Probably  had, it was ungodly early and Pansy wasn’t too sure about how quiet she’d been coming into the dorm.</p><p>“<em> Merlin </em> !  Daphne what the fuck?”  Pansy hissed, clutching her hand over her chest.  Daphne should be banned from walking without her shoes on, it made her too good at sneaking up on people.  But she didn’t seem to care about the near heart attack she’d given Pansy as she huffed and crossed her arms.</p><p>“You’ve been gone all night, sue me if I’m a little worried.” Daphne said, squinting up at Pansy.  She <em> wasn’t </em> worried, that was obvious.  There was only a finite number of places Pansy could’ve been, and she knew Daphne had already deduced it and just wanted to a reason to press for details, so she did indulge her a little bit.</p><p>“I was with Hermione, alright?”  Pansy murmured, and the scowl on Daphne’s face turned into a pleased smirk.</p><p>“Ooo is that so?”  Daphne asked, waggling her eyebrows in a way that just made Pansy want to choke her.  But she didn’t, no need to go to Azkaban after what had been the best night of her life to date, it would be a real downer.</p><p>“Sod off.”  Pansy whispered and Daphne led her over to her bed and pulled her inside the curtains, casting a quick <em> muffilato </em> as to not wake up Tracey before turning to face Pansy again.</p><p>“What happened?”  Daphne asked and Pansy shrugged.  She could be as vague as she wanted to, honestly.</p><p>“I spent the night.”  Pansy said, and Daphne was clearly not amused with her stating the obvious like that.</p><p>“Well that’s obvious.  What <em> happened </em> ?”  She asked and Pansy sighed, running a hand through her hair.</p><p>“We talked.”  She said, which wasn’t a lie.  They <em> had </em> talked a lot before… and after.  And in the morning.  So really she was just evading one part of the truth.</p><p>“Hm.  Interesting.  Just talked?”  Daphne asked and Pansy felt her face get a little hot as she responded</p><p>“... No.”  Pansy said and Daphne groaned and covered her face with both hands.  That’s an overreaction if Pansy’s ever seen one… and also one that doesn’t make much sense considering the circumstances.</p><p>“Damn it!”  Daphne groaned and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  What the fuck was she on about now?</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked and Daphne dropped the hands from her face, a scowl across her features again.</p><p>“I owe Tracey 5 galleons, I bet her you were too much of a prude to do anything.”  Daphne confessed and Pansy’s jaw dropped as she smacked Daphne’s arm.  Not like she hadn’t slightly expected this, but she sort of hoped they wouldn’t do it.</p><p>“You were <em> betting </em> on my sex life?!”  Pansy hissed and Daphne winced and rubbed her arm as she responded.</p><p>“You’re… surprised?”  She asked, raising an eyebrow and Pansy shrugged.</p><p>“A little!”  Pansy said and Daphne snorted and shook her head in disbelief.</p><p>“Wow.  Well it's good to know that after all these years you still have the most minimal of standards for me.”  Daphne said with a smirk and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She didn’t have standards she had <em> expectations </em> .  Ones she never met herself, but still.  They were there.</p><p>“And I’m <em> not </em> a prude.”  Pansy grumbled and Daphne snorted and crossed her arms, clearly not believing her.</p><p>“You are with her.”  Daphne said plainly and Pansy huffed and looked away.  Being respectful of the person you’re dating was not a bad thing, Pansy knew that.</p><p>“I’m not!”  She insisted and Daphne chuckled and leaned back on her hands.</p><p>“Really?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make the first move.”  Daphne said and Pansy sighed and shrugged.  She did, just not in public… didn’t want to ruin Hermione’s reputation or get them in any trouble.</p><p>“I make the first move all the time, just away from prying eyes.”  Pansy explained and Daphne raised her eyebrow again.</p><p>“So you made the first move last night?”  Daphne asked and Pansy felt her face redden a bit.  Hermione had made the first move multiple times last night, but that was mostly because she didn’t want to be seen as pushy.  She wanted it to happen on <em> Hermione’s </em> terms, and she felt like that was valid.</p><p>“Well… no…”  Pansy said and Daphne had a smirk on her face that was far too self satisfied for her own good.</p><p>“I rest my case.”  She said and Pansy shook her head.  That was not a definitive example!</p><p>“That is <em> one </em> instance, you can't exactly base Hermione and my entire relationship's dynamic off of that.”  Pansy said, and Daphne chuckled and shook her head, like that didn’t matter.  It <em> did </em> , at least in Pansy’s opinion.</p><p>“One very important instance.  Wasn’t it your first time?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy looked at her with confusion. The only person she’d told about her and Draco not doing anything was Tracey… and Theo overheard but he’d been threatened into secrecy.</p><p>“How did you know that, everyone else thought I-.” Daphne cut her off with a knowing look.</p><p>“Tracey already told me that you and Draco never did anything, I already had my suspicions on that.”  She explained.  Right.  Daphne wasn’t stupid, of course she’d already known somewhere in her mind.</p><p>“Right.”  Pansy muttered.  She sort of wished they had been able to fly <em> under </em> the gaydar a bit better, but she supposed it was only a matter of time, especially considering she and Draco never showed affection to one another during their ‘affair’.  Daphne cleared her throat and leaned forward, looking Pansy in the eyes again.  <em> Merlin.  </em> Did she really need the third degree right now?  Felt a little early for all that...</p><p>“Was it her first time?”  Daphne asked and Pansy shrugged.  She didn’t ask, part of her didn’t want to know if she’d slept with Weasley, and part of her knew she probably had.   After all, he and Hermione <em> had </em> been together for over a year so it wouldn’t be a shock.  It was just an image she didn’t need permeating her brain.</p><p>“I don’t know, don’t exactly see how that's any of my business.”  Pansy mumbled, and Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath.  Okay so that was the <em> wrong </em> answer, good to know.</p><p>“<em> Merlin </em> .  Okay.  You should be informed about that kind of stuff, it's like… sexual health 101.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy shrugged.  How was she honestly supposed to know that, it wasn’t like it was covered in charms class or anything like that.</p><p>“Well that's not exactly a class we’ve gotten taught at our <em> wizarding school </em> .  Plus you know my parents, they didn’t even talk to me about homework, I cannot imagine either of them talking to me about sex.”  Pansy huffed, and this caused Daphne to break into an amused grin.</p><p>“Oh Merlin me neither.  Although I’d pay good money to see it.”  Daphne said with a chuckle.  Pansy would give anything to <em> never </em> hear her parents talk about sex… not that she had to worry anymore, they had no idea who she was.</p><p>“<em> Okay </em> .  Is this really what you meant to ask me and if so can I <em> please </em> go to bed.”  Pansy groaned and Daphne shook her head and laid back on the bed, looking over at Pansy.  Oh great, an early morning heart to heart just like Pansy <em> never </em> wanted.</p><p>“No, this isn’t over.  Was it good?”  Daphne asked and Pansy choked on her own air.  She didn’t know why it was so hard to talk about this with Daphne, literally Pansy had easily made up elaborate lies about how far her and Draco had gone and not even batted an eye.  This wasn’t all that different, but she felt like she was divulging some kind of secret if she told anyone what happened.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah it was really good.  She was… um… she was really good.”  Pansy said, her throat feeling dry as her mind replayed the events of last night.  Daphne nodded and leaned a little bit back before speaking again.</p><p>“Good… did you-.”  Pansy groaned and covered her face.  It was <em> 5:45 </em> in the morning on a Saturday, the last thing she wanted to be doing right now was debriefing someone on her first time.<br/>“ <em> Merlin, </em> Daphne, I don’t see how that's any of your business!”  Pansy said, her voice muffled by her hands.  Daphne scoffed and pulled them off of her face, giving her a significant look.</p><p>“Please, you asked when me and Blaise did it.”  She pointed out and while she wasn’t <em> wrong </em> , the reasoning was completely different.  Pansy had wanted something to tease Daphne with, Daphne was being genuinely curious.</p><p>“Yeah, because I wanted to know exactly how rubbish he was in bed and I was <em> right </em> he wouldn’t know how to handle a woman if there were step by step instructions laid out before him.”  Pansy said, her voice coming out bored.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head, flicking some hair out of her face.</p><p>“That was a little harsh, honestly Pansy.  He wasn't <em>that </em>bad, and I still enjoyed myself.”  Daphne said and Pansy grimaced because she did not need to think about Daphne <em>enjoying </em>herself.  Something told her there was no getting out of this, she had to tell her <em>something </em>if she wanted a prayer of going to sleep.</p><p>“You’re not letting this go are you?”  Pansy asked and Daphne shook her head and rolled over on her side, propping her head up to better look at Pansy.</p><p>“Nope.” She said and Pansy huffed.  Bare minimum, just give her the bare minimum, she thought.</p><p>“<em> Fine </em> .  We were both very well… satisfied.  Are you happy?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes.</p><p>“I mean, I would appreciate a little bit of elaboration on that but I know I’m not getting it so yeah.”  Daphne grumbled and Pansy let out a quiet sigh of relief.  Thank <em> Merlin </em>.  Her eyes were drooping a bit.</p><p>“Thank you.”  She sighed and Daphne stood up to go, but paused at the last minute and turned around.</p><p>“One last thing.” Daphne said and Pansy sighed.  Of course she had one last thing, she couldn’t just let whatever it was go until later in the day.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked and Daphne pointed at her collar</p><p>“Where the fuck is your tie?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged.  She had to think of what to say without including Potter in it.</p><p>“I left it behind.”  Pansy said, and that hadn’t been a lie, even if she had come in with a tie it wasn’t <em>her </em>tie so she was telling the truth.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head.</p><p>“See, that's what would suck about an inter-house relationship.  I leave my tie in the Slytherin boys dorm, I can get it back no problem, but getting it back from another house?  Not as easy.”  She explained and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  It certainly was as easy, you just had to have people in the house that you knew, Pansy thought.</p><p>“H-I mean um, a <em>friend</em> is gonna get it to me.”  She said, her eyes widening a bit at the near slip up.  Merlin, she had to be more careful.  Daphne raised an eyebrow and looked a little dubious at her answer.</p><p>“Well… that’s nice of them…”  She said, trailing off.  Pansy cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck.  She did not need Daphne picking this apart and realizing that it had to have been someone she either saw in the corridors or in the dorm.</p><p>“Yeah.  I’m gonna try and get some more sleep, alright?”  Pansy said and Daphne nodded, turning around on her hell to walk back to her bed.</p><p>“Sure, sure.  Get some rest, Parkinson.”  She said over her shoulder and Pansy sighed, sagging back against her bed, eyes drifting shut almost immediately upon her laying down.</p><hr/><p>Pansy was making her way to the great hall when she got yanked by the arm around a corner and yelped because first of all <em> ow </em>, second of all, she didn’t know exactly how much Goyle was pissed at her for all the detention he was having to serve and if it was him, she wasn’t exactly ready to die.  But to her relief it was just Hermione… looking very pissed off.  Merlin, whats this about?</p><p>“Do you care to explain how <em> Harry </em> got my tie from you?”  Hermione hissed and Pansy steadied herself on her feet and thought for a moment.  There was only one other logical explanation of how he got it.</p><p>“Oh, he caught me in the hallway, said he was coming in from quidditch practice and he pointed it out to me and said he could return it faster than I could.  And he was right about that part.  Sorry.”  Pansy lied, and Hermione seemed to buy it.  She relaxed back down and sighed, running a hand through her hair as she spoke.</p><p>“No, it's okay.  It was just a little surprising because for a moment I thought…”  She trailed off and Pansy raised her eyebrow, though she already knew what Hermione was probably thinking about.</p><p>“Thought what?”  Pansy asked and Hermione shrugged, looking down at the ground before she spoke.</p><p>“That maybe Harry was down in the Slytherin commons, maybe that he was seeing someone… and didn’t want me to know.”  Hermione said softly, and Pansy felt torn because she wasn’t <em> wrong </em> but it wasn’t that Harry specifically didn’t want <em> her </em> to know, it was that no one was supposed to know.</p><p>“Well, if he<em> is </em> seeing someone, I’m sure he’ll tell you about it the second that he’s ready.” Pansy insisted, and Hermione was silent for a good moment before looking up at her and shrugging.</p><p>“... You’re probably right.”  Hermione sighed and she smiled and dropped a kiss on the top of Hermione’s head.</p><p>“I know that.”  Pansy said, and turned to go into the great hall, but Hermione grabbed her arm and pulled her back.</p><p>“Hey… I had a really good time last night.”  Hermione said and Pansy nodded and leaned against the wall.</p><p>“So did I.”  She said and Hermione raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath.  Pansy could tell she was nervous about something, that maybe she thought she did something wrong, and she wanted to make sure that the other girl knew nothing wrong had been done.</p><p>“Really?  Like I wasn’t bad-.”  Pansy widened her eyes and cut her off.  <em> Merlin </em> , if she thought that was considered possibly <em> bad </em> what did she consider as good?</p><p>“No!  Not at all, you were… Merlin, you <em> are </em> amazing.  In every single way, alright?  And I’d tell you if you weren’t, you already know that.”  Pansy said softly, cupping her cheek, and she noticed how Hermione seemed to relax after that was said.</p><p>“Okay… okay.  Good.”  Hermione said, and the relief was clear in her voice.</p><p>“Mhm.  I do need to go meet Daph and Tracey before lunch is over, so I’ll talk to you after, okay?”  Pansy asked, and she nodded, resting her head on Pansy’s chest for a moment before leaning back.</p><p>“Yeah, of course.”  Hermione said, leaning up to leave a soft kiss on her lips before steering her back towards the flow of students.  Pansy turned away from her, and she thought she heard a little gasp but she wasn’t sure, so she didn’t turn around.</p><p>“Pans!”  Hermione called and Pansy stopped walking.  Okay, so she should’ve turned around right away.  Hermione sounded almost panicked, which Pansy did find to be a slight cause for concern.</p><p>“Yeah?”  Pansy asked, turning around to see Hermione was chewing on her lip, brows furrowed as she stared at Pansy intently.</p><p>“Um… you might want to pull your collar up a bit.”  Hermione said and Pansy chuckled.  Why would she do that?</p><p>“Why?”  She asked and Hermione sighed and shook her head.  What was she seeing that Pansy didn’t know about?</p><p>“Just… before you get over to your table and <em> Daphne </em> says something.  Pull it up.”  Hermione said, and raised her eyebrow.  It took Pansy one more moment before her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over the side of her neck before scowling a little bit.</p><p>“<em> Merlin </em> , ‘Mione.  Are you serious?”  Pansy hissed and Hermione shrugged, clearly not <em> entirely </em> upset about it.  Wanker.  But of course she wasn’t upset about it, there were no marks on <em> her </em>neck, Pansy had been very careful about that.</p><p>“I thought I was more careful!”  Hermione insisted and Pansy huffed, popping her collar up a bit as she shook her head.</p><p>“So did I!”  She sighed and Hermione took a step closer and pulled her collar down a bit to examine the spot.  Pansy didn’t miss the tiny smirk on her face and it made her sort of want to hex the other girl because it felt a little like she'd done this on purpose.  Pansy did <em>not </em>hex her, and she would not do that, but the urge was there.</p><p>“Well, it’s not <em>that </em>noticeable, honestly to the untrained eye it might just look like it's a bit discolored.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, pulling the collar back up.  Like Daphne <em>needed </em>any ammunition.</p><p>“I’ll take your word for it.  I’m gonna go eat.”  Pansy said, and turned to go before Hermione stopped her again.</p><p>“You aren’t mad, right?”  She asked asked softly and Pansy furrowed her brows. Why would she be mad?  Sure, she’d been a little surprised, maybe irritated but she wasn’t mad right now.</p><p>“What?  No.  I’m not mad, I’m just a bit hungry.  I love you, alright?”  Pansy said softly, pressing a kiss to Hermione’s forehead.</p><p>“Okay… I love you too.”  Hermione said, and Pansy turned, this time actually being able to make it into the great hall, and she fell into her seat in between Daphne and Tracey and grabbed an apple before she realized Tracey was smirking at her.</p><p>“Trouble in paradise, Parkinson?”  Traecy asked, and Pansy looked at her with a raised eyebrow.  What had given her that idea.</p><p>“No, why?”  She asked, and Tracey jutted her chin to where Hermione and her had been standing.</p><p>“Just looked like an intense conversation.”  Tracey said, shrugging her shoulders.  Pansy sighed and ran a hand through her hair before turning fully towards her to talk.</p><p>“Yeah well-.”  She wasn’t able to finish her sentence before she felt Daphne’s gaze fall on the back of her neck.  She’d noticed the collar. Well, shit.</p><p>“Why is your collar up so high?”  Daphne asked, eyeing her suspiciously.  Pansy <em>felt </em>herself sweating.  If she could get through this meal without Daphne making fun of her for having a hickey then it would be a good day.</p><p>“What?  It’s not.  Shove off!”  Pansy said quickly, and Daphne sighed and leaned a little closer, still looking at her with scrutiny.</p><p>“It <em> is </em> .  And it makes you look like a wanker.”  She insisted and Pansy felt her face heat up as she looked down at her plate.</p><p>“Shut up.”  Pansy muttered and Daphne shook her head and reached over to pull at it, but Pansy held it up against her neck.</p><p>“Pull it down.”  Daphne instructed, and Pansy shook her head.  Absolutely not.</p><p>“No.”  She said and Daphne rolled her eyes.</p><p>“<em> Fine </em> .  I’ll do it.”  She said and yanked it down.  Pansy’s eyes widened and her hand flew over the spot.</p><p>“Daphne no-.” Tracey gently pulled her hand down and made a quiet sound of surprise but nothing else.</p><p>“Huh.  Well I didn’t really peg Hermione as one to leave marks but… alright.  Good to know.”  Tracey said, and Pansy clenched her jaw and turned to the other girl, sighing at her.  This was exactly what she had been trying to avoid.</p><p>“Tracey I swear to-.”  She started and she felt Daphne grab her shoulders and physically turn her.  Daphne emitted a loud gasp and Pansy trained her eyes on the ceiling.</p><p>“Merlin, Pans!  You <em> own </em> concealer, why not use it?  Or <em> episkey </em> might work, it's a bruise after all.”  Daphne said, loudly enough that at least five people around them turned to look.  Pansy flicked her arm and scowled before turning back to Tracey.</p><p>“Is it noticeable?”  Pansy asked and Tracey looked a little closer at her neck and shrugged before turning away.</p><p>“It's like… half hidden so not really?  But you’re so pale that it does stand out against your skin.  Next time just tell her to aim for below the collar.”  Tracey said in a bored voice before taking a bite of her apple.  Pansy groaned and let her head drop into her hands.  This was exactly as mortifying as she thought it might be.</p><p>“She <em>did</em>.”  Pansy murmured, and she heard Tracey snort next to her, and Daphne gagged slightly and set down her fork.</p><p>“Ugh, now that I know it's there, I’ve lost my appetite.”  Daphne whined, and Pansy leveled a heavy glare at her.</p><p>“Oh shut up!  I’ve seen <em> literally </em> thousands of them on you over the years when you were hooking up with Blaise, don’t be a dick.”  Pansy snapped, but her tone didn’t seem to affect Daphne much.</p><p>“Being a dick is my default setting.”  Daphne said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and took a bite of her food, swallowing it before spoke again.</p><p>“I <em> know </em> , and it's exhausting.”  Pansy sighed and Daphne rolled her eyes, glaring at her.  Pansy wondered if she knew that she wasn’t all that intimidating.  Looking like a golden child, even when you’re not, is pretty far from intimidating.</p><p>“Oh please, like you aren’t the same way!”  Daphne huffed, and Pansy shrugged.  She knew she was a dick, but she was a dick about things that weren’t <em> private </em> … excpet for the whole Daphne and Blaise thing, she would do anything to make Daphne get over him, including ridicule.</p><p>“I <em> am.  </em> But I balance it out, at least I’m funny.”  Pansy said with a smirk and Daphne gasped in disbelief.</p><p>“Oi!”  Daphne said, poking Pansy with her fork.  Interesting reaction, didn’t exactly cause much pain, Pansy thought.</p><p>“What?”  Pansy asked and Daphne crossed her arms and looked away.</p><p>“I’m <em>perfectly</em> funny!”  She muttered, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Most of the time, yeah she could be a little funny, but Pansy wasn’t <em>over </em>this morning yet.</p><p>“Yes, if funny is making jokes at your friends expense and <em>betting </em>on their <em>sex life.</em>”  Pansy snapped again, and Tracey let out a small sigh of disappointment and pushed Pansy back a bit so she could look around her.</p><p>“Daph, you told her?”  Tracey asked, sounding a little bit disappointed</p><p>“I had to know if I was right!  Plus she woke me up when she clamoring back into the dorms at <em>five fucking thirty </em>this morning.”  Daphne hissed, and Pansy shot her another glare.  Yeah, because it wasn't like <em>Daphne </em>had been the one to keep her up or anything.</p><p>“Well, who was right?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy took a deep breath.</p><p>“You were.”  Pansy said, and Tracey grinned and threw her arms around Pansy for a moment, who went stiff at the attack.</p><p>“Hell yeah, pay up.”  Tracey said, releasing Pansy and leaning around her.  Daphne rolled her eyes and sighed.</p><p>“You suck.”  Daphne grumbled and Tracey held out her hand and raised an eyebrow, looking all too smug.</p><p>“Yeah yeah, whatever.  Give me the money, Greengrass.”  Tracey said, wiggling her fingers on her waiting hand.  Daphne sighed and dug the money out of her pocket, dropping them one by one into Tracey’s hand.</p><p>“Dick.”  Daphne muttered as Tracey tucked the money away.  Pansy chuckled a bit because how was <em>Tracey </em>the dick in this situation?  Daphne was the one who had assumed she was a prude.</p><p>“Next time, don’t bet against our friend.  Maybe you’ll <em>finally </em>win something.”  Tracey said smugly, and Daphne flicked some food at her and huffed.  Pansy chuckled and shook her head, turning her attention forward, and she ended up making direct eye contact with Hermione.  She couldn’t mistake the smirk on Hermione’s face.  Fucking wanker.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Chapter 32</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was uncharacteristic, she knew it from the moment that she did it.  Pansy goddamn Parkinson would not be caught </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead </span>
  </em>
  <span>practicing some new Transfiguration charms just to make her </span>
  <em>
    <span>girlfriend </span>
  </em>
  <span>a bouquet of flowers, not the person she was at the beginning of term.  But she did it without a second thought, and considering it actually looked good, she decided to give it to her.  Only problem:  Pansy could not locate her </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere </span>
  </em>
  <span>today.  It was like she as invisible, or actively hiding, so when Pansy saw Harry in the hall, she figured it would never hurt to ask if he’d seen Hermione.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry!”  Pansy called, jogging slightly to catch up with the boy.  He raised an eyebrow and looked at her in surprise.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  Not Potter anymore, then?”  Harry asked and Pansy shrugged, examining her fingernails.  She was trying something new, and she was almost 100% <em>certain </em>she had started calling him Harry after finding out about him and Draco.  But she could humor him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured you’ve earned a first name basis, after all you saw me in quite a… state and did manage to get my tie back to me rather quickly, so I owe you on that front.”  Pansy said, keeping her voice as bored as possible as she remembered that Harry </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> see her all but fresh out of Hermione’s bed.  It wasn’t exactly her… prettiest moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it, got it.  Whats up?” He asked and Pansy rubbed the back of her neck and sighed, feeling a little bit awkward.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you seen ‘Mione?  I uh… I transfigured these for her and I wanna make sure that she gets them…”  Pansy said, holding up the flowers to prove that was indeed what she was doing.  Harry crossed his arms and chuckled as he leaned a little closer to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thats so-.”  He started and Pansy held up her hand to silence him and gave him a quick glare.  She was not going to let him finish that sentence, she was not going to let </span>
  <em>
    <span>Harry Potter </span>
  </em>
  <span>call her sweet right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>ruin it.”  She growled and Harry shook his head and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  You’re a cold emotional Slytherin I forgot.”  Harry said with a smirk and Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved him lightly, forgetting he was actually pretty light, and accidentally sending him flying to the ground… she’d heard something from Draco that his aunt and uncle weren’t exactly the most… welcoming people.  Pansy could relate to that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shove off!”  Pansy snorted and held a hand out to Harry, hauling him to his feet.  She did scan him over to make sure there wasn’t any real damage, Draco would </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill</span>
  </em>
  <span> her, but from what she could tell he was just a little rumpled, and still smiling.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right well, she should be on the second floor in one of the corridors, thats the last place I saw her.”  Harry said, and Pansy clapped him on the shoulder, a little more careful with the amount of force she put behind her hand this time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, golden boy!  I owe you one.”  Pansy said, and Harry raised an eyebrow, looking a little but uneasy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re being scarily nice today.”  Harry said, and Pansy shrugged.  Ever since the night with Hermione she really couldn’t find a reason to be all that mad.  Plus, it was a good enough day, no reason for him to be concerned.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in a good mood!  Can you blame me?”  Pansy asked, and Harry thought for a moment and sighed, shaking his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No, not really.”  Harry said, and Pansy gave him a curt nod and reached forward to lightly pat his cheek.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now </span>
  </em>
  <span>it made sense why he looked so uneasy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.”  She said, and turned on her heel, climbing the stairs with a small smile on her face.  It was unlike her, but she was actually really excited to give Hermione the flowers… yes they were just dandelions but it seemed like something she might appreciate.  She turned down the corridor and stopped dead in her tracks because yes, there was Hermione… and Ron.  Locked in a tight hug that made all of the dark parts of Pansy’s brain start to scream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Hermione?”  Pansy asked quietly, and the other girl untangled herself from Ron’s arms and turned around with a large smile on her face.  How quickly could she set them on fire?  Probably pretty quick but she decided that probably wasn’t a good idea right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!  Hey!”  Hermione said brightly.  Pansy felt her mouth dry up as she clenched her flowers a little tighter.  She cleared her throat and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Hey.  You two look… cozy.”  Pansy said through clenched teeth.  Hermione furrowed her brows and stood up from her spot next to Ron, walking up to Pansy.  She wanted to pull her wand </span>
  <span>out and hex her, wanted to put some distance, but she was frozen in place.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Oh, no no!  Pans-.”  Hermione started, and Pansy snapped out of her stupor shook her head and started walking backwards.  She needed to get away from here, she needed to figure out what the hell was happening </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Its… its cool.  Um.  These are for you.  Later.”  Pansy said, shoving the flowers into Hermione’s hands and turning on her heel, all but running away.  Dungeon, she had to get down to the dungeon before anyone could see something was wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!”  She heard Hermione shout behind her and she tucked her head down and ran a little bit faster.  Once she was inside the her dorm, she dove under her blanket and turned her face to the wall.  She just needed some time, she just needed to calm herself down.  Was anything happening between them?  Probably not, but she needed to stop herself from thinking it, which would take time.  Pansy heard the door slam behind her and jumped a little bit, not looking away from her fixed spot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, why is Granger standing outside our common room?”  Daphne sighed and Pansy shrugged, still staring at the wall.  It should say something that Hermione followed her and was waiting for her to come out… but she really didn’t see that happening until dinner at the absolute earliest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Couldn’t say.”  Pansy mumbled, and she knew Daphne wouldn’t buy that, hell, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t buy that and it had been her lie.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“What happened, P?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy shook her head.  She didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, she just wanted to get it worked through her head so she didn’t ruin the good thing she had going.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Nothing.”  Pansy insisted and Daphne cleared her throat, obviously not satisfied with the answer she was receiving.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Daphne said, her voice having a bit more authority, and this time Pansy did give into giving her a little bit of context.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was with Ron.”  She sighed and Daphne was silent for a good moment as the gears seemed to turn in her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like with Ron or </span>
  <em>
    <span>with-</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  She didn’t want to think about it right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t stick around long enough to find out, but they looked rather… close.”  Pansy mumbled, and Daphne let out a deep breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy… You know she wouldn’t-.”  Pansy sighed and shrugged, closing her eyes.  This day was already too much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I?  Maybe I was just kidding myself thinking this could </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>fucking work.  Maybe I should’ve known that this was obviosuly just some kind of prank.”  Pansy mumbled, and she heard Daphne let out a heavy sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hun… she’s in </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you… I-I know its hard for you to believe her-.”  Pansy cut her off and shook her head with an incredulous laugh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>her?  I’m sorry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one who saw them, okay?!  Not you!”  She spat and Daphne inhaled sharply, clearly surprised at the sudden outburst.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>, calm down, alright?  So what did you see?”  Daphne asked and Pansy shrugged, huffing quietly.  When she thought about it she hadn’t seen anything incriminating per se, and she could admit she’d only glanced them, but still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A tender embrace.”  Pansy sighed, sitting up and running a hand through her hair.  When she glazed up at Daphne’s face she knew she might be acting a bit crazy from the look on the other girl’s face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, friends hug.”  Daphne said carefully, taking a step or two closer as Pansy shook her head.  She knew that, of course she did… but there was still the jealous beast inside of her screaming that he still wanted her.  That maybe Hermione wanted him too, and it was eating away at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>friendly.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was deeper then that… it was… it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>intimate.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>There was </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>there.”  Pansy insisted, and Daphne was silent for a moment before dropping down to a crouch in front of Pansy, looking up at her and taking both of her hands, softly rubbing her thumbs over her wrists in an attempt to calm her down.  This may have worked five minutes earlier, but Pansy felt it might just be a moot point, but she allowed the contact.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... They’re  best friends.”  Daphne said softly and Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes, willing the pressure behind her eyes to not become tears right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>ex’s</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy spat bitterly and Daphne sighed and dropped her hands in favor of reach up and placing a hand on either side of Pansy’s face, holding her lightly.  This did prompt Pansy to make eye contact with her again, and Daphne took a deep breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  They aren’t together anymore, okay?  She’s with you, and… I think you should trust her.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and slapped Daphne’s hands down, turning away from her.  Had Hermione given her any reason to not trust her?  No.  Did that mean she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> trust her unconditionally?  Absolutely not, and she thought that was fair, she’d never known full trust or unconditional… anything.  It wasn’t in her nature.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”  Pansy said, and Daphne shook her head and pulled herself up next to Pansy, turning a bit to face her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you so worried about?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged.  What </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>she most terrified of?  Probably just the inherent rejection, she knew that, but something was lurking a little closer to the surface that felt a little less real but no less terrifying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe she got what she wanted and decided she was done.” Pansy murmured, and Daphne looked a little confused before it clicked in.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you-Oh.  You think that since she slept with you she’s done, right?”  Daphne asked and Pansy was silent for a good moment.  Of course she was worried about that, in the moment she couldn’t think of another reason why someone who was so different from her would actually want a relationship.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Is it such a crazy thought?”  Pansy asked softly because the more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Daphne seemed to pick up on the actual fear in her voice and pulled Pansy’s head onto her shoulder, wrapping an arm around her before speaking again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s not like that, c’mon Pans...”  Daphne tried again but Pansy shook her head.  It made her a little bit irritated that Daphne said that with such confidence, like </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the one in the relationship or something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How the fuck would you know?  You've barely ever spoke to her.”  Pansy spat and Daphne shrugged, a small chuckle coming from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s Hermione </span>
  <em>
    <span>Granger</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  The girl can’t cheat on an exam let alone a person!  Also, she doesn’t exactly seem like the type to fuck you and then leave.”  Daphne said, and Pansy took a deep breath.  Objectively she knew that but that didn’t mean her subconscious understood it right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean-.”  Daphne cut her off and stood up, using one hand to gently ease Pansy back down onto her bed before pulling the blanket back over her.  Well, that was one way to force the end of a conversation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just… take a break, when you’re a little calmer… maybe go out and see if things can’t be worked out.  And if it turns out your theory is correct I won’t hesitate to hex her until she’s dizzy, alright?”  She asked and Pansy thought for a moment and sighed, giving in to Daphne’s request and shutting her eyes.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>use a small break.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sounds reasonable enough.”  Pansy mumbled, turned her back once again to the room.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy was alone, finally, just trying to work on a bit of her homework after dinner, but of course that wasn’t going to happen.  She’d guessed it before she could even smell his cologne -which was rather impressive, if she may say so herself-.  Draco Malfoy had finally caught wind of some of her </span>
  <em>
    <span>recent</span>
  </em>
  <span> events.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So is it true?”  Draco asked, sliding into the seat across from Pansy in the library.  This could about one of two things and Pansy wasn’t in the mood to disclose details about </span>
  <em>
    <span>either </span>
  </em>
  <span>right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>true, Dray?”  Pansy snapped, glowering at the boy over her homework.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and Hermione-.”  She almost snapped her quill in half.  She assumed Harry would have some semblance that maybe when he saw her sneaking in, he should keep it private but that was apparently too much trust to put in the golden boy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin!  I’m going to kill your little boyfriend I swear to Circe!”  Pansy growled, and Draco rolled his eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh c’mon, Pans, did you really expect him not to tell me?  We don’t have secrets!”  Draco insisted and Pansy had to chuckle at that.  Really, they didn't have secrets now, is that what he was going with?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>forced to keep the secret from my girlfriend that you’re dating her </span>
  <em>
    <span>best friend</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it would be a nice thank you for him to keep his mouth shut.  And if you don’t have secrets I assume you’ve told him that your darling father wants you to be a-.”  Draco clapped his hand over her mouth to stop her from saying ‘Deatheater’ and chuckled.  It took him entirely too long to remove his hand, in Pansy’s opinion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  Hm.  You’re in a very pissy mood tonight.” Draco observed, and Pansy slammed her book shut and glared at him.  She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>in a pissy mood, she was just a little… annoyed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy insisted, and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She was in a perfectly acceptable mood, annoyance was allowed.  Draco leaned forward a bit and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whats on your mind?”  He asked and Pansy <em>tsked</em> and opened her textbook again, not wanting to get into a conversation right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There is nothing on my mind.”  Pansy insisted and Draco shook his head and examined his fingernails as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, that sounds like a lie, my dear.”  He said, and without looking over, Pansy pulled out her wand and pressed it to his throat, considering all the damage she could do with just a few simple spells.  She decided against it though, would be quite the messy way to get expelled in her opinion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never call me that again, Malfoy.”  Pansy warned, and lowered her wand. Draco chuckled and held up his hands in defense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohoho.  Wow.  Gonna keep pretending like everything is perfect after you called me </span>
  <em>
    <span>Malfoy</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”   Draco asked in an amused tone and Pansy swallowed her desire to punch him </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>in his smug mouth.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes because-.”  She was cut off by the sudden arrival of Hermione’s familiar scent behind her, causing her stiffen.  Also, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>, was how she smelled a perfume or something?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>How </span>
  </em>
  <span>did she always smell good, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>was it always so strong and distinct?  These were questions Pansy would have to ask when she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>pissed at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?”  Hermione asked quietly and Pansy sighed and hung her head.  She supposed this was what Daphne said she should try and do.  Work it out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.”  Pansy mumbled, still not looking at her.  Draco looked both delighted and confused at the slight rise in tension.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we talk?”  Hermione asked and Pansy rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the look on Draco’s face, like he was watching live theatre or something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Talk</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy spat and Hermione let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.  Oh, what did </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to be upset about, Pansy thought bitterly, she’s the one whose done something wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… I meant privately.  No offense Draco-.”  Draco waved her off and stood up.  Pansy glowered at him because that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>traitor </span>
  </em>
  <span>behavior.  Leaving her alone with the person she was angry at was something only a traitor would do.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I get it.  If you can get her to talk, that would be great.”  Draco said before disappearing.   Hermione took his spot and pushed her hair over to one side before leaning down on her arms, looking at Pansy with concern.  Pansy, for her part, tried even harder not to look at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, you ran off before I was able to explain what you saw-.”  Hermione started and Pansy raised an eyebrow, willing her expressions to stay neutral and calm.  No need for Hermione to know she’d been crying about this earlier.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looked like you getting nice and </span>
  <em>
    <span>cozy </span>
  </em>
  <span>with your ex boyfriend.”  She gritted and Hermione looked confused at this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t-.”  Pansy cut her off, unable to stop herself now.  She needed to get it out, she needed to know even if it hurt.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then again maybe that was your plan all along, eh?”  Pansy said with a wry chuckle, trying to ignore the tug in her chest that reminded her that she was actually very self conscious about the thought of that.  Hermione made a sound of surprise next to her and shifted a little closer as Pansy leaned away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged.  She had to push to actually get the words out, because she was scared of them possibly getting affirmed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe your plan was to just… fuck me and then leave me.  Have the one thing in this school no one else has managed to get their greedy little hands on.”  Pansy mumbled, and for a long and treacherous moment, Hermione was completely silent.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You… you don’t really think that, right?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely </span>
  </em>
  <span>believe it, but there was part of her that couldn’t be convinced that Hermione actually wanted her.  It didn’t make sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who knows.  It could’ve been a challenge one of your Gryffindors issue-.”  Hermione cut her off with a heavy sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  Can you look at me, please?”  Hermione said softly and Pansy sighed and clenched her jaw, setting her quill down.  She turned and looked over at her, trying to ignore the fact that some of her anger dissipated upon the sight of Hermione’s eyes: loving, soft, even she was mad at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... What?”  Pansy asked and Hermione took a deep breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will get back to your mindset on </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>I had sex with you, because apparently that reasoning didn’t sink in.  Do you want to know the reason I was with Ron or not?  Because if we’re going to do this, if this relationship is going to become more… serious.... Then I need you to trust me, please.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy considered this.  It was fair to give her a chance to explain, that <em>was </em>what she had promised to Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.  Tell me.”  Pansy said in sharp tone and Hermione fiddled with her fingers before speaking to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was telling him how fucking excited I was that you said you loved me…  that I couldn’t believe this -you-, that its all real.”  She said softly and Pansy’s shoulders sagged a bit.  Okay, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> make a bit more sense then Hermione suddenly cheating on her, but honestly...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why </span>
  <em>
    <span>him? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Why not Harry?”  Pansy asked quietly and objectively she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was being a bit sensitive, and she really did trust </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She was still working on trusting that Ron didn’t have secondary motives.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because despite the relationship in our past, Ron is still one of my best friends and he deserves to know.  After all… he was the one who convinced Molly to let him and I fly to Diagon Alley so I could get the locket.  And he’s the one who took that photo.”  Hermione said, and Pansy’s eyebrow shot up.  That just didn’t seem believable, not after the shit she’d done to Ron, not after </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything </span>
  </em>
  <span>that had gone down between the two of them.  Why would he help Hermione get together with her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Pansy asked quietly and Hermione nodded with a small smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you don’t believe it but the </span>
  <em>
    <span>second</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  The literal second that I told Ron I had feelings for you he wanted to help me, because he wanted me to be happy… even if it wasn’t with him.”  Hermione explained and Pansy chewed on her lip.  Did she feel a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tad</span>
  </em>
  <span> bit foolish?  Perhaps, but she wasn’t going to say it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>you two getting back together and sharing a tender embrace?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed heavily and took one of Pansy’s hands in both of hers, prompting her to look over before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy…”  Hermione said gently and Pansy sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to make sure she didn’t snap.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked and Hermione shifted a little bit closer and brushed a gentle kiss across Pansy’s knuckles.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to go back, okay?  I’m happy with where I am.  With who I’m with.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy did feel the internal turmoil turn up a little bit because it didn’t make sense.  Honestly Hermione </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>seem better suited with Ron.  Hell, this time last year, they were in love and Pansy was still actively making Hermione’s life a </span>
  <em>
    <span>living </span>
  </em>
  <span>hell.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I’m not-.”  Hermione raised an eyebrow which did effectively stop Pansy from finishing her statement about not being good enough.  She didn’t feel like having this fight today, after all she knew she’d probably lose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not what?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not… nice.  I’m not funny or sweet and I don’t have a mother who can knit you sweaters and make you Christmas dinners and I don’t have an amazing family that can surround you with love. I just have-.”  Hermione smiled and squeezed her hand lightly to cut her off before pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You.  And that’s all I want, okay?”  She asked and Pansy sighed and chuckled, shaking her head.  That didn’t make sense to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll never understand that.”  Pansy said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow and leaned a little bit closer to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Hermione asked and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  Because why would anyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>willingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to be around her?  Nobody had been like that before, even Tracey and Daphne had </span>
  <em>
    <span>started out </span>
  </em>
  <span>hanging out with her because they got something out of it, even if the friendship did become real.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, if I could run away from myself I </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>would.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione was silent for a moment before she started speaking again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t.  I think that’s pretty clear.”  Hermione said and Pansy shook her head again.  Well, she supposed Gryffindors really <em>were </em>brave, wanting to be around someone so… damaged.  After all, Pansy could've easily become actually evil if she'd wanted to.  Being around her was like playing with fire.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a kinder person then I am.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione nodded and smiled at her, her expression still soft and sweet.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know.  That’s why we work.”  She responded and Pansy raised her eyebrow and rubbed her temples lightly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That… makes no sense.”  Pansy said, and Hermione shrugged.  No, that wasn’t a <em>shrugging </em>reason, it just really didn’t make any sense to Pansy.  She was pretty sure it wouldn't make sense to most people... she knew their relationship was a shock to many.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Opposites attract, love.  Plus I’d say we’re <em>very </em>compatible.”  Hermione insisted, running her finger up Pansy’s jaw before letting her hand rest on her cheek.  It was a sweet gesture but her statement didn't make sense to Pansy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really.  <em>I’m </em>compatible with Hogwarts’s golden girl?”  Pansy said with a snort and Hermione nodded, letting out a small chuckle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know why this surprises you so much.”  She said quietly and Pansy sighed and shrugged.  There were a <em>million </em>different reasons she could present right now because <em>wow</em>.  But she figured she should just go with the most obvious one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I’m a bitch.”  Pansy stated, and she was a little bit shocked when Hermione nodded.  Like yes, it was true, but that doesn’t mean she had to </span>
  <em>
    <span>agree </span>
  </em>
  <span>with Pansy.  She could’ve denied it if she wanted to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Well yeah but… you’re not being a bitch to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>anymore.”  Hermione explained and Pansy chuckled a little bit because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the reason they were compatibility?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Really</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  Thats it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is <em>not </em>compatibility.  That’s you lowering your standards.”  Pansy smirked and Hermione rolled her eyes and shoved her shoulder.  Pansy didn’t see what was wrong with stating an obviously true statement.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t lower anything.  <em>You </em>let your guard down and showed me who you really were under that cold exterior, and I fell in love.  If anything you <em>exceeded </em>my standards, or at least my expectations for you.”  She said, and Pansy’s chest squeezed a little bit and her face heated up with that explanation.  It was sweet.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Pansy asked, a small smirk playing on her lips.  Hermione nodded and leaned a little bit closer, resting her head on Pansy’s chest for a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  Hermione said, her voice muffled against her sweater.  Pansy sighed and brought one of her arms up, running her fingers around Hermione’s shoulder blades as she thought about today.  She <em>had </em>jumped to conclusions...<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin I’m… I’m sorry.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione shook her head and lifted it up, looking into Pansy’s eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s nothing to be sorry for, alright?  Just… next time you’re feeling insecure about something… maybe try talking to me about it instead of avoiding me actively for half a day?”  Hermione tried and Pansy nodded.  That seemed like a fair compromise, and one that would probably end in a lot less anger.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can definitely work on that.”  She said and Hermione grinned and kissed Pansy’s forehead softly before tucking her wand back into her robe.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great.  Now, I have to go edit Harry’s paper.  But I’ll see you for prefect rounds tonight, alright?”  Hermione asked as she stood up.  Pansy was grateful for the reminder, she’d been a bit forgetful last time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course.”  She said with a small smile, and Hermione turned around and leaned down a tiny bit, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.”  Hermione said, tilting Pansy’s chin up with a finger under her chin, and Pansy sighed.  She didn’t really feel like she deserved that right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to-.”  Hermione put a finger to her lips, effectively cutting her off.  Much nicer then actually interrupting, at least in Pansy’s opinion.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.”  She insisted and Pansy paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and pushing Hermione’s finger off her lips so she could respond.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.  Alright.  I love you too.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione nodded and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head before walking off, leaving Pansy to reflect on today, and what a mess it was.  It was like the Pansy from the beginning of the year had decided to come out to play.  Pansy groaned as she rested her head onto her textbook, realizing she still probably had a lot of work to do to make sure this didn’t happen all over again.  She <em>was </em>a little predisposed to having a bit of drama, after all.<br/></span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Chapter 33</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Time is a construct… a construct that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going completely in Pansy’s favor today.  She was about 2 minutes before being late for prefect rounds, and she honestly had no one to blame but herself.  Luckily, the staircases were in her favor today, even if time was not, and she managed to get there just in time.  Hermione looked up at Pansy, who was panting from running across the </span>
  <em>
    <span>entire </span>
  </em>
  <span>school and chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, not even late today… I’m proud.”  Hermione said with a small smile.  Pansy rolled her eyes and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before sighing and leaning against the wall next to her, examining her nails.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, you wanker.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione leaned her head on her shoulder and chuckled lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  I was being honest.”  She said and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, waiting for Hermione to pick her head up before pushing herself off of the wall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  Ready?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded.  She supposed that was a bit of a stupid question, she’d been the second one to get here, not Hermione after all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  She said and they began their patrol down the hall, silently for a couple of moments.  But silence ended up being boring, so she cleared her throat and turned a little bit towards Hermione before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… Anything interesting happened since we last talked?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione chuckled and arched her eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, it's only been three hours.” Hermione said, and Pansy shrugged.  Okay, so maybe just </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was a dull conversation starter, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A lot can happen in three hours.”  Pansy responded and Hermione rolled her eyes and shoved her lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but still.”  She said, and Pansy regained her balance and chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So is that a no?”  Pansy asked and Hermione thought for a moment before she answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I mean, Ron asked Lavender Brown out.”  Hermione said and Pansy while she wasn’t <em>surprised </em>by this, it was rather interesting, and it did make the school atmosphere different from how it was three hours ago.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded, looking a little bit tense as she responded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She muttered, and Pansy tried to ignore the little voice in her head screaming that maybe she was jealous that Ron was moving on.  She trusted Hermione, especially after the <em>last </em>time she had listened to her brain.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d that go for him?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and shrugged, running a hand through her hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re getting drinks at the Three Broomsticks next weekend, but Lavender did insist that it wasn’t a date.”  Hermione explained and Pansy was a little surprised by that.  She’d thought they were into each other, at least a little bit.  She knew Lavender was a little hot on him at the beginning of the school year, but she supposed a lot could change in roughly six months.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Interesting.  Always thought she was kinda into him.”  Pansy said, and Hermione shrugged as they turned down another hallway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So did I… but you know, vetting your options before anything happens is a good idea.”  Hermione reasoned and Pansy took a deep breath.  There was nothing to be jealous over, it was just an idea she agreed with.  But she couldn’t help but wonder...<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree… did you?”  Pansy asked and Hermione looked at her in confusion.  Pansy didn’t know what she thought didn’t make sense about what she had said.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I what?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged, keeping her eyes trained forward as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Vet your options before dating me?”  Pansy asked, feeling a slight bit of jealousy gnawing at her stomach.  She pushed the feeling down and just did her best to listen to Hermione as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no not really… Once I broke up with Ron I was actually hell bent on staying single for like… a year.  And then…” Hermione trailed off for a moment and Pansy looked at her with a raised eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then what?”  Pansy prompted and Hermione shrugged and smiled over at her a little bit before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then you just… I don’t even know, Pans.  It was like… okay.  I think when I realized I <em>maybe </em>liked you was after Harry’s quidditch accident.”  Hermione explained and Pansy nodded.  That had been an interesting day, she definitely hadn’t expected it to go the way it did, with her holding Hermione for about an hour as she sobbed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I held you until you stopped crying.”  Pansy remembered and Hermione nodded and sighed wistfully, looking forward as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t run.”  She said, and this statement did surprise Pansy a little bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You thought I would run?”  Pansy asked with a soft chuckle.  That was absurd although… she <em>did </em>start to walk away that day when she thought Hermione was going for Ron, so maybe it <em>wasn’t </em>so absurd.  Hermione shrugged and tucked some of her hair behind her ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I might have.”  Hermione admitted, and Pansy nodded.  Okay yeah, fair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair, I am… me.”  Pansy said, and Hermione swatted her with the back of her hand and gave her a slight glare.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!  Don’t do that.”  She snapped and Pansy winced.  <em>Ouch</em>.  She always forgets that Hermione </span>
  <span>didn’t know her own strength.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked, rubbing where she’d been hit.  Hermione sighed and gestured very vaguely as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Act like you’re nothing.  You’re pretty amazing.”  Hermione said, and Pansy let out a snort.  She was <em>nothing </em>special, she knew that for sure.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Amazing people jump to the conclusion that they’re getting cheated on.”  She pointed out and Hermione sighed, but didn’t nod in agreement.  Instead she just slipped her hand into Pansy’s and gave it a very light squeeze.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you’ve got some… insecurities.  That doesn’t make me love you any less.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I started liking you that day you saved me from getting hit by the Willow.”  Pansy said and Hermione looked at her in surprise.  Okay could Hermione <em>really </em>blame her?  Pansy didn’t exactly want to talk about how Hermione thought she was great.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's a change of topic.”  Hermione said, raising her eyebrow.  Pansy shrugged and leaned against the wall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, aren’t you curious?”  Pansy asked and Hermione looked at her with confusion and crossed her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, of course but-.”  Pansy knew that she was going to say ‘but you already told me when we started dating’  but going over a story again never hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then let me finish, love.  So I started liking you that day, but I didn’t realize until the Amortentia… or more accurately until I found you with Ronald’s tongue down your throat.”  Pansy explained and Hermione let out a wistful chuckle.  Well, she had a <em>different </em>view on that night then Pansy did, if she could easily laugh about it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That night was…”  Hermione trailed off.  Well, if she couldn't think of any words, Pansy <em>certainly </em>could.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucked up?”  Pansy offered, and Hermione let out a surprised chuckle.  Shouldn’t be that surprising, it <em>was </em>a rather fucked up night.  She’d cursed Hermione out for kissing a guy and then tried to write </span>
  <span>her off.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was going to go with messy, but your words work too.”  Hermione said and Pansy let out a sigh </span>
  <span>and pushed the hair out of her face.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But yeah.  I went back to my dorm and cried.  For like…. Multiple days other than going to classes.”  She said and Hermione nodded.  Right, of course she would know that, there was no reason for her not to.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember.”  Hermione replied and Pansy shook her head.  Honestly, if she’d told that girl, the girl who’d been caught crying in the prefect’s bathroom, that she’d have a girlfriend before the school year was out, she was fairly certain that her past self would pass away from shock alone.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really thought you’d never feel the same way.”  Pansy admitted and Hermione stiffened before letting out a small laugh and stopping their stride.  She leaned against the wall and looked at Pansy with an expectant expression.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.  So… what did <em>you </em>think when we were under the Mistletoe?”  Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.  Pansy felt her face heat up and she shrugged and looked away, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That I didn’t want to interpret anything wrong.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin</em>, Pans!  I wore your sweater!  I bought you a necklace that was like… fairly expensive.”  She said and Pansy thought for a moment.  Those were both things someone could do with a <em>friend</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but-.”  Hermione held up her hand to cut her off with a little smile on her face.  Oh so she thought this was <em>funny</em>.  Okay.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not done!  When George called you a ‘keeper’ I said that I agreed and wrapped my <em>arm </em>around you.  Merlin, I flirted with you <em>under </em>the mistletoe.”  Hermione said, the amusement clear in her voice as she finished speaking.  Pansy let out a breathy laugh and nodded.  She’d missed plenty of signals.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose I <em>was </em>quite daft, yeah?”  Pansy murmured and Hermione shook her head and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t say daft… just… <em>very </em>oblivious.”  Hermione muttered and Pansy shot her a warning glare and rolled her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, thought you were straight.”  She responded, a little shocked by how defensive she sounded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did too.”  Hermione admitted.  Then <em>how </em>was she supposed to be picking up on those signals?  If all parties thought she was straight, how was Pansy to know?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…” Pansy trailed off and Hermione rolled her eyes.  Pansy knew she didn’t want to admit she was wrong.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I understand your confusion.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy gave her a curt nod, bringing the back of Hermione’s hand up to her lips and pressing a soft kiss on it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.”  She said, and they continued their rounds, just hoping to get through the night without having to give out any infractions.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The second Pansy heard it said she knew that today was going to end up with her either expelled or suspended.  She was walking with Hermione, hand in hand down the hall when she heard it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi Parkinson!  Didn’t realize you had a thing for filthy little mudbloods!”  A Ravenclaw girl called, her tone coming out very condescending.  Pansy bristled and turned around, letting go of Hermione’s hand in favor of stomping up to the girl, and looking her in the eyes.  The Ravenclaw shrank a bit under her glare.  Good.  She should be scared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What </span>
  </em>
  <span>did you just call my girlfriend?”  Pansy snarled and the Ravenclaw flinched away and covered her face for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… Nothing…”  She said meekly and Pansy let a smile spread across her face, one that obviously didn’t look too kind if the other girl’s face was anything to go off of.  Good, she wanted to seem intimidating.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  You said it, let me hear it one more time, yeah?”  Pansy said, her voice coming out sounding sort of sweet in a way, with a dangerous sort of edge.  Hermione ran a hand up her shoulder and sighed, resting her head against Pansy’s back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy we should just-.”  Hermione tried, and Pansy reached around and locked their fingers </span>
  <span>together for a second, not taking her eyes off of the Ravenclaw girl.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in the middle of something, dear.  Go wait over there.”  Pansy said, her tone softening immediately when she spoke to Hermione.  The other girl seemed to be considering whether or not she should stay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.”  Hermione finally said, and walked over to the side.  Pansy straightened back up and crossed her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>What did you call her?!”  Pansy snapped, and the girl took a step back, trying to gain some distance between the two, but Pansy followed her step for step, her glare not leaving the other girl’s face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”  She tried and Pansy grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her closer, toying with the idea of just beating her bloody right now.  But she decided she wanted to make sure she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>100% </span>
  </em>
  <span>sure of what had been said first, and released the collar.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if it's true then you should have no issue telling me one more time.  C’mon.  I wanna know.” Pansy said, and the Ravenclaw swallowed heavily before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... A mudblood.”  The Ravenclaw whispered, and Pansy felt the rage in her chest swell a bit as she clenched her fist and stepped even closer, all but having her nose press into the other girl’s.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I thought.  You </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>bitch!”  Pansy growled and the girl stepped back, raising her hands in surrender as she started to babble.  Pansy didn’t care, she wasn’t even listening, honestly the Ravenclaw would be lucky if she made it out alive, Pansy thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Pansy I-.”  The other girl didn’t get to finish her sentence before Pansy swung, her fist colliding with the other girl’s teeth.  Pansy winced and looked down at her hand, knowing that her knuckles were going to be a bit cut up.  She knew better than to go for teeth.  In the time that she was looking down at her hand the other grabbed her shoulders and ran her backwards, ramming her into the wall and knocking the breath out of her before striking her hard across the face.  Pansy was quick to recover though, as she ignored the blood coming from her nose and brought her hands up around the other girl’s throat, watching the panic in her eyes as she started to squeeze.  The other girl dropped her hands and Pansy forced her to the ground, stopping her pressure on the other girl’s windpipe with just a moment to spare before she passed out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to apologize?!  Are you?!”  Pansy said through gritted teeth and the girl sat up a bit and coughed before leveling a glare at Pansy and raising an eyebrow.  Oh, a clear challenge, Pansy could work with that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I?  She’s a fucking mudblood bitch, she shouldn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>be </span>
  </em>
  <span>here!  She’s not good enough!”  The other girl snapped, and Pansy struck her again, this time hitting the nose, much better for her knuckles.  From there she just rained down the hits blindly, her vision practically red with rage for what felt like hours before she heard someone’s voice through the pounding of her blood in her ears, and she felt a hand yanking on her shoulder to pull her up.  She struggled against the person, but they wrapped one arm under each armpit and held her, suspended as she kicked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Parkinson, calm down!  </span>
  </em>
  <span>You’re gonna get yourself expelled!” Ginny hissed in her ear, and Pansy struggled against her grip, glaring down at the girl who was still curled up on the ground.  She wanted to kill her, she wanted to kill her with her </span>
  <em>
    <span>bare hands</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care I’m gonna-.”  She was interrupted by Tracey who gave her one warning look and then turned to Ginny.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop!  </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ll take it from here, Weaslette, she’s a lot less likely to kick me then she is you.  Thanks.” Tracey said, and replaced Ginny’s grip.  Pansy heard the redhead sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Ginny but… yeah.”  Ginny mumbled and Tracey huffed, gesturing with one of the hands holding Pansy back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go make sure Hermione’s okay.”  Tracey instructed and Ginny gave her a funny look and raised her eyebrow.  Clearly she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>less </span>
  </em>
  <span>concerned then Pansy was, probably not because she was being a bad friend but because Hermione could handle herself.  And of course Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermione could handle herself but she was angry that someone would even consider say it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Ginny asked, and Tracey sighed and tightened her grip on Pansy as she tried to break out of her hold.  Wanker.  The Ravenclaw was beginning to compose herself a bit on the ground and Pansy wanted her to </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay down</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We both know Pansy can brush off shit about herself.  If she’s gotten this angry, someone did something to Hermione.  Now go, you’re more of a… comforting presence then Daphne and I are.  She hardly trusts us.”  Tracey explained, and Ginny did seem to agree with that statement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  She said, and then turned, walking off to the wall where Hermione was leaning.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Pansy was reminded once again why she was so mad and began trying to break free of Tracey again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hey.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Cut it out, alright?  There's no need for this right now-.”  Pansy scoffed and struggled against Tracey’s grip to no avail.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She called Hermione a mudblood!”  Pansy growled and Tracey let out a long sigh and hefted Pansy up a bit, pulling her further back.  This was surprising, she had no idea Tracey was that strong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, so have a lot of people, I’m pretty sure Granger could’ve handled that-.”  Pansy huffed and cut her off.  She didn’t give a shit if Hermione </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>handle it on her own, she shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>could’ve </span>
  </em>
  <span>but she shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to.”  Pansy responded and Tracey let out a deep breath and held on tighter.  Pansy was moments away from breaking apart when she saw someone sweep past her.  Oh great, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>it had to be McGonagall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“WHAT IS ALL THIS COMMOTION?!”  She shouted and the Ravenclaw struggled to her feet.  Pansy felt a swell of pride when she saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>how fucked up the other girl’s face was.  She deserved it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson hit me!”  The girl said, sounding far too much like the innocent party in all of this.  It was irritating.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Parkinson, is this true.”  McGonagall asked with a raised eyebrow, and Pansy couldn’t deny it.  Her knuckles were bloody and her nose was bleeding, of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>she’d been the one to hit her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Yeah, I hit her and I’d do it again.  In fact-.”  She tried to break out Tracey’s arms, but again was stopped.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey warned and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She’d been caught, she supposed there was no point in making the argument for her expulsion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She murmured and Professor McGonagall turned to her again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>did you hit her?”  Professor McGonagall asked, and Pansy flashed back to the night she had arrived crying back to Hogwarts.  Of course McGonagall expected better of her now, she was supposed to be turning over a new leaf.  But that </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>gotten a little boring, could she really  blame Pansy?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She called Hermione a…”  Pansy paused, not exactly wanting to repeat the word that was all too familiar coming out of her mouth.  Professor McGonagall crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mudblood?”  Professor McGonagall offered, and Pansy nodded, looking down at the ground.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  That.”  She muttered, and McGonagall took a deep breath and crossed her arms.  Pansy knew this probably wasn’t going to end up going in her favor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well Ms. Parkinson, while her behavior is unacceptable, so is beating someone up to the point that they might have to go to Madame Pomfrey.”  She said lowly and Pansy nodded, chewing on her lip.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand that.  So what’re you gonna do?  Expel me?  Snap my wand?”  Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow.  Professor McGonagall’s expression was completely unreadable, honestly she could’ve been considering murder on the spot for all Pansy knew.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  Detention every Sunday for the rest of term, 100 points from Slytherin for inciting violence and disrupting the peace. And Ms. Parkinson... if I catch you even </span>
  <em>
    <span>one toe </span>
  </em>
  <span>out of line again, I will strip you of prefect duties.”  McGonagall warned, and Pansy was about to agree when Ginny piped up across the room, taking a step into McGonagall’s view.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But she was just protecting-.”  Ginny started, but Pansy leveled a glare at her.  She knew what she had been getting herself into when she swung first.  And overall it was a far lighter punishment then what she was expecting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny, stay out of it!  That seems fair, professor.”  Pansy said, standing up as straight as she could with Tracey holding her back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  You’re in your 7th year!  You’re meant to be a role model!”  McGonagall chastised the 7th year, who looked down at the ground.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Professor McGonnagal-.”  She tried, but the professor simply held a hand up to silence her and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to hear it. Two weeks of detention and 50 points from Ravenclaw for foul language.”  She snapped, and the girl looked extremely lost in all of this.  Did she </span>
  <em>
    <span>seriously </span>
  </em>
  <span>think she’d get away without a consequence.  Merlin, Pansy thought, this must be her first time starting </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>at this school.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not-.”  The other girl started to protest, and Professor McGonagall’s neutral face fell way to a glare.  Pansy <em>knew </em>she wasn’t taking this calmly, it was good to actually see it.  Sometimes she was hard to read.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will make it 100 and you can share in Ms. Parkinson’s punishment if you’d like.” McGonagall snapped, and the Ravenclaw widened her eyes and shook her head before looking away from the Professor.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No ma’am.”  She muttered and McGonagall straightened up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.  Now, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey.  Ms. Parkinson, I’d recommend getting yourself checked too.”  The professor said, peering over her glasses.  Was Pansy’s nose throbbing?  Oh, absolutely.  Did she plan on going and getting it checked?  No.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No thank you, Professor.  I’m fine.”  Pansy said, keeping her voice monotone.  McGonagall paused for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... If you insist.  Everyone disperse!”  She shouted, and the crowd that had ended up gathering was quick to dissipate.  Pansy realized Tracey was still holding her back and rolled her eyes.  Honestly, the fight was </span>
  <em>
    <span>over</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she could be let go.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let </span>
  <em>
    <span>go </span>
  </em>
  <span>of me.”  Pansy growled, and yanked herself out of Tracey’s arms and turned around, crossing her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy you know you shouldn’t do shit like that.”  Tracey said, rather gently.   Pansy shrugged and set her jaw, looking away from the other girl.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It pissed me off!”  Pansy said, her voice still coming out a little strained and angry.  Fighting always made her angry… or eerily calm, one or the other.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but-.”  Pansy cut her off and sighed, running a hand through her hair as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, I know I used to say it, I know I used to say it </span>
  <em>
    <span>to her </span>
  </em>
  <span>but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with other people doing that now.”  Pansy snapped, and Tracey was silent for a good minute before sighing and nodding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I get it.  I really think you should get your nose checked, it might be broken.”  Tracey said, reaching out and prodding the tender area.  Pansy yelped and moved her face away, glaring at Tracey.  That seemed like the </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>way to check if someone’s nose was broken.  Like honestly?  Touching it?  Rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said through clenched teeth and Tracey held up her hands in surrender and started to back away a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you insist.”  She sighed, and turned on her heel fully to walk away.  Pansy gathered the things she’d ended up dropping when she hit the wall; her wand was about it, honestly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you’re bleeding.”  Hermione said quietly, and reached up to cup her face.  Pansy looked away from her and dodged the touch, still fuming, still too proud to admit it hurt like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>I’m fine, I just need to go wash it off.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione chewed on her lip before sighing and nodding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming with you.”  She insisted and Pansy nodded and held out her hand. She supposed being alone right now might </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>be the best idea.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.”  Pansy muttered, and once Hermione took her hand they started off towards the bathroom at a rather impressive clip.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know you didn’t have to do that, right?”  Hermione sighed as they entered the prefect's bathroom.  Pansy glared at her for a moment before taking a deep breath and stopping them both, resting a hand on either of Hermione’s shoulders and leaning their foreheads against each other.  She could do this in a slightly more calm tone and still get her point across.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The hell I didn’t!  I’m not letting people insult you around me.”  Pansy said, her intensity dropping on the second sentence.  Hermione rolled her eyes, but a soft smile was on her face as she clasped her hands behind Pansy’s neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could’ve handled that myself.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy shook her head.  She didn’t want Hermione to have to handle being insulted like that by herself.  Merlin knows Hermione hadn’t let her handle being bullied for being outed on her own.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t have to.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione sighed and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You're right, I shouldn’t.  Just like </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>shouldn’t be beating people bloody!  Or getting beat yourself.   Pans… I think your nose is broken.”  Hermione said, and Pansy shook her head and continued walking until she was to the mirror.  She pulled out a handkerchief and started dabbing at the blood under her nose.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's not broken.”  Pansy insisted as she cleaned her face.   She was careful not to bump her nose while she was doing so.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna bet?”  Hermione asked with a small chuckle and Pansy gave her a look, bringing the handkerchief down a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  She said flatly and Hermione sighed and held out her hand to the other girl.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Come here, let me do that.”  Hermione said gently, and Pansy glanced over at her and sighed.  She walked over and crouched a little bit as Hermione began dabbing at the blood under her nose, accidentally bumping the tender cartilage, causing Pansy to yelp and jump a bit away from her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ow</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.  Alright so </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe </span>
  </em>
  <span>she had a point.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See?  Broken.”  Hermione said, the smugness showing through her tone.  Pansy glared at her and stepped back into her space so Hermione could continue cleaning up the blood.  Just because she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t mean she had to be a wanker about it!</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll just deal with it.  Maybe it’ll make me look tough.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione smiled a little at her as she wiped under her nose again, a little more carefully this time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling, you’re already tough.”  She insisted and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She did not seem tough in the slightest.  A bitch, absolutely, but not tough.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I certainly don’t look it.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione chuckled and put down the handkerchief.  Pansy took a glance in the mirror and was a little relieved to see the blood was gone.  She could work with a broken nose, but blood dripping down her face seemed a tad bit unsanitary.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure you do.”  Hermione said, breaking her out of her thoughts of her appearance.  In what way did she </span>
  <em>
    <span>possibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>look tough?  Scrappy maybe, but not tough.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t.”  Pansy mumbled and Hermione shrugged and took a deep breath before she continued her point.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in a traditional sense, no.  But when someone looks in your eyes, when </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>look in your eyes, I can tell that you’ve been through so much.  You’re tough, Pans.  Being pretty and looking a bit like a socialite doesn’t make that any less true.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy felt her face get hot in spite of herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think I’m pretty?”  She murmured, and Hermione gave her a funny look and let out a little chuckle.   Yes, Pansy still getting a little bit flustered when she got called pretty by Hermione was a bit ridiculous, but she didn't have to <em>laugh.</em> </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thought that was pretty obvious, but yeah.”  Hermione mumbled and Pansy rolled her eyes and leaned a little bit closer to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean I could’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>guessed</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but it never hurts to check.”  She murmured and Hermione chuckled and shoved her away slightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re a dork.”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and pulled her closer, setting her hands on Hermione’s waist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm, that’d better stay a secret, Granger.”  Pansy said with a smirk, leaning in to press a soft kiss right under her ear.  She didn’t miss Hermione’s sharp intake of breath as she hovered there for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… maybe you need to give me an incentive for my silence, Parkinson.”  Hermione said, and Pansy could clearly tell she was trying to flirt, but where was the fun in that?  She pulled her face back and crossed her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well.  If you don’t keep that secret, you’ll never see me naked again.”  Pansy said, and Hermione’s face dropped comically, earning a small chuckle from Pansy as she turned back to the mirror.  Hermione shoved her lightly before crossing her arms and resting her back against one of the sinks.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s <em>such </em>an overreaction, are you <em>kidding</em> me?!”  Hermione groaned and Pansy raised an eyebrow at her, checking her face one last time in the mirror.  If she ended up being in too much pain she’d just ask Daphne to fix her nose up later.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I’ll take it that my secret is safe with you?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione let out a huff and turned away from her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.  Obviously.”  Hermione snapped and Pansy rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Hermione’s waist, tucking her face against her neck and sighing heavily, finally feeling herself relax a little bit.  Would she still willingly decapitate that Ravenclaw if need be?  Oh, for sure.  But she didn’t see them crossing paths any time soon.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Chapter 34</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Mild Suicide implication</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had honestly been a rather relaxing afternoon, Pansy had taken it upon herself to spend nearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>of it bothering Draco in his dorm, which actually made it much more interesting. She wanted to see just how irritated she could make him by staying in his space, he’d always hated that when they were ‘dating’, but so far he hadn’t gotten mad, not even when she put her legs in his lap, he’d simply rested his elbows on them while he was reading.  And since she wasn’t getting the response she had intended on, Pansy decided she should ask the one question that had been bugging her since the night she’d caught Draco and Harry together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I have one question.”  Pansy said, when her curiosity got the better of her.  Draco slowly closed his book and looked over at her, eyebrow raised.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go for it.”  He said and Pansy crossed one leg over the other and sat up a tiny bit before responding to him.  She supposed she could take her legs off of his lap, but she was oddly comfortable right now, that much movement sounded counterproductive.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>How </span>
  </em>
  <span>did you start dating your Golden Boy?”  Pansy asked, and Draco gave her a funny look before he responded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did Harry and I get together?”  He asked, his tone hushed.  She didn’t really get why, they were in his dorm, no one else was here, and frankly, no one was listening.  And if they did, Pansy honestly couldn’t see a world where they’d be shocked, Draco had him spend the night at least once.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!  You two </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>each other for years, and you never made up or anything, least ‘Mione and I did that much.”  Pansy said, and Draco sighed and shrugged.  Why did he look like this was such a chore?!  Pansy had to deal with carrying around the weight of his secret at all times; she felt she at least deserved a </span>
  <em>
    <span>partial </span>
  </em>
  <span>explanation as to why they were even together in the first place.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, not everything needs to be in the public eye, Pans.”  Draco mumbled, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  That insufferable, cocky little-No.  No, she thought, she needed to be calm and collected and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>snap at him for putting something of </span>
  <em>
    <span>hers </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the public eye before she was ready.  She took a deep breath before responding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair, totally fair.  But… Why do you still act like you hate each other?  If it ever got out, wouldn’t you at least want it to make a bit of sense?  No one is gonna believe it's real if the two of you are still at each other’s throats…”  Pansy said and Draco chuckled and shrugged, leaning forward a bit, drumming his hands on her calves as he spoke.  Pansy could pick up on his nerves getting worse and worse as he actually acknowledged it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the point.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>No one </span>
  </em>
  <span>will believe it if it gets out.” Draco explained and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  Hm.  Makes some sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  I guess that's actually… sort of brilliant.”  Pansy murmured and Draco sighed and stretched.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t it?”  Draco said, and Pansy was silent for a bit, just mulling it over.  In her head, it was always only Draco wanting to keep it secret, and this new discovery was throwing her for a bit of a loop.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So was it a mutual choice?”  Pansy asked, and Draco gave her a slight nod, leaning back against the wall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  He murmured, and Pansy chuckled lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t imagine Potter being ashamed of much of anything.”  Pansy muttered and Draco opened one eye and looked over at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh he wasn’t ashamed.  He’s not ashamed, it's just a fact of life that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>cannot </span>
  </em>
  <span>be gay.  I mean, we saw what happened with you.”  Draco pointed out, and Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost </span>
  </em>
  <span>held back on reminding him who had </span>
  <em>
    <span>caused </span>
  </em>
  <span>that.  Almost.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>the lie you told.”  Pansy snapped, feeling herself get angry all over again about what the Wizard had said months ago.  Even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>helped her land the woman she loved, she wanted nothing more than to wrap her hands around his self righteous little neck and choke him out.  But she didn’t, she took a deep breath and watched Draco shrug before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean it wasn’t a lie-.”  He started and Pansy narrowed his eyes, honestly considering murder for a moment, before remembering she no longer had rich parents that could get her out of having a trial if need be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was something fabricated to piss me off and drive me back to you so I didn’t break out of the agreement, you just didn’t realize you were actually outing me.”  Pansy huffed and Draco nodded, as though he saw no issue in this.  That one little movement alone, acting like this wasn’t a big deal, was enough to make Pansy even more annoyed.  And to think this had started off as a </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice </span>
  </em>
  <span>conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Draco said, and his voice came out soft enough that the average person <em>could </em>mistake it for remorse, but Pansy knew better then that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That <em>still </em>isn’t a good excuse.”  Pansy insisted and Draco looked at her, this time with a bit of pity in his eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know.  I know.”  He said and they were silent for a moment before another question weaseled its way into Pansy’s mind.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you ever think you’ll tell anyone?”  Pansy asked and Draco nodded and sighed, running his hand through his hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe once my father dies… and my mother… and my aunt… and you know... my entire family.”  He said, and Pansy nodded.  What he was saying made sense, all but one part of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think you’ll still be with Potter then?”  Pansy asked, a little bit shocked that he had thought that far in the future, and not at all surprised when he shook his head and let out a hearty laugh before continuing.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  I’m saying I’ll come out...  I mean, I'll possibly come out, depending on other things.”  He explained and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  Good idea in theory but it’d never work in practice.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dray, by the time your family is dead you’ll be married with kids, you’d tear apart your own family.”  She pointed out, and Draco gave her a look before training his eyes forward.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll pay my wife handsomely.”  Draco reasoned and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  How would he fake the actual <em>transactional </em>part of pureblood marriages?  She was honestly curious about what his ideas were on the topic.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll have to consummate the marriage, Dray.”  Pansy pointed out and he shrugged, keeping his eyes trained forward as he spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can pay her to lie.”  He said calmly, and yes this may take away that one part of the marriage, but Draco was missing the biggest part, Pansy thought.  The part that had made the idea of pureblood marriage so terrible to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco you’d need to produce an <em>heir, </em>you know that.  Pureblood families insist upon it, there's no escaping it, not even for you.”  Pansy pointed out, and Draco shrugged, examining his fingernails as he spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Open marriage.”  He said plainly and Pansy sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.  This wanker had really thought of everything, hadn’t he?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin’s beard… I suppose so.”  Pansy murmured, and Draco shrugged, finally looking over at her again with a small smile.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t think that I’d thought this out?  Didn’t <em>you?</em>”  Draco asked, and she nodded.  Obviously, that was her favorite day dream, how she would get out of her unhappy marriage she would inevitably have with him.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did!  I assumed once my father got murdered, because with the way he has the audacity to act, it wasn’t going to take long, I planned on coming out.  It was supposed to be an easy, decade-long lie, and then I could ruin your life and come out.” Pansy explained, and Draco flashed her a large grin and poked her calf.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beat you to it.”  He said, and Pansy sighed and leaned up, smacking his arm as hard as she could from this angle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you're such a douche.”  She snapped and he chuckled and nodded, opening his book up again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  He murmured, and they stayed like that, casually touching for one of the <em>first </em>times in their friendship,  until Pansy had to leave for her study date.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>She didn’t even make it to breakfast that morning before Hermione was in her face and fuming.  Did Pansy know what about?  Of course not, but she did know that 8:00 in the morning felt a little bit early for this kind of behavior.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know about this?!  Did you honestly keep something </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>important from me, Pansy Parkinson?!”  Hermione hissed, pressing her finger into Pansy’s sternum with every word.  She had very sharp fingers for someone with no nails, it made Pansy wince a bit.  And what was worse was she had </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea what she’d done to insight this much rage in her girlfriend, she normally had a small idea but this was just… out of left field.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, ‘Mione, calm down… I don’t even know what you’re on about right now…”  Pansy said quickly, holding her hands up in surrender.  Hermione advanced even more, resulting in Pansy pressing herself against the wall and getting on her toes to give her as much leverage as possible to be in control of the situation, which she was not in charge of.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco and Harry!  How long have you known?!”  Hermione asked, her glare not letting up.  Pansy felt herself go hot and then cold.  How did she find out?  And moreover, how was Pansy going to explain to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Draco </span>
  </em>
  <span>that she had found out?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.... why are you asking me about them?”  Pansy asked, trying to remain as innocent sounding as possible.  Hermione let out a frustrated huff and crossed her arms, shrinking back down to her normal size.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re together.”   Hermione said quietly, and Pansy’s heart sped up again as she pulled Hermione around a corner and crossed her arms.  She had to be mistaken, that was the only explanation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”  Pansy hissed and Hermione shrugged, looking a little bit confused with her anger.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think anyone was </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to know, but when Harry sat down for breakfast, someone threw a paper at him, and it was a note.  One he’d written to </span>
  <em>
    <span>Draco</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  About how much he loved him, about how he cherished being with him.  And about how </span>
  <em>
    <span>three Slytherins </span>
  </em>
  <span>finding out about it wasn’t enough to make him want to call it quits.  It was dated a couple of days after we started dating.”  She explained, looking up at her.  Pansy had gone quite pale, because if this was exposed to the whole school, then Draco would be...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione.”  Pansy said quietly, and the Gryffindor cocked her eyebrow a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  She asked, and Pansy took a deep breath, trying to will herself to stay calm.  It didn’t work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Draco?”  Pansy asked, feeling her dread start to build.  She honestly had no idea what he’d do right now, he’d do anything to get the attention off of what had gone wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How am I supposed to know that?”  Hermione asked and Pansy started glancing around corners, hoping she could maybe see him walking down a corridor or something, but there was no such luck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which way did he go?  He… I don’t know what he’s gonna do.”  Pansy explained and Hermione sighed and pointed down the opposite hallway from where Pansy was looking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He sprinted out of the Great Hall.”  She said and Pansy turned back to her and gently set a hand on either shoulder, looking her in the eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was he alone?”  She asked, trying to sound calm, even if she wasn’t.  Hermione still had a look of confusion on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  She said and Pansy groaned and covered her face for a moment.  This was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>disaster</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.  Shit shit shit.”  Pansy hissed, running a hand through her hair.  She really didn’t want Draco to do anything drastic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, what's going on?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy let out a sigh and looked down at her girlfriend, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I knew about them but he didn’t <em>tell </em>me.  Theo, Tracey and I saw them a couple of days after break when we were going down to the kitchens to grab some firewhiskey that we’d accidentally left in there.  If this gets back to his father… he’ll die.”  Pansy said, her voice quieting on the last part of the sentence.  It took Hermione a long moment before she actually responded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.”  She said quietly, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She loved Hermione, obviously she did but sometimes she did get the urge to fight with her <em>only because </em>the other girl acted like she knew everything, and this is the kind of situation that doesn’t warrant that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  <em>Oh.  </em>I couldn’t tell you because I was sworn to secrecy.  And remember that your best friend <em>also </em>kept this from you, so you can choose to either be mad at me or help me find Draco before he does something drastic.”  She snapped, and Hermione was quick on her answer this time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where would he go?”  She asked and Pansy paused for a moment.  Where <em>would </em>Draco go after being outed?  She doubted he’d be as cliche as she was and go cry in the bathroom, he wouldn’t want to be discovered.  Granted, neither had she, it had just been luck of the moment that Ginny was in there.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… maybe his dorm?” Pansy asked and Hermione shrugged, holding out her hand to her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t hurt to check.”  She said and Pansy took it, pulling Hermione down to the dungeon, running through the common room and into Draco’s dorm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco?!  Draco!”  She shouted, looking around, feeling her heart sink when it was empty in his dorm.  Shit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, he’s not in here.”  Hermione sighed and that's when it hit Pansy.  Of course, how was she so blind?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Out by black lake.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione looked at her with some warranted confusion.  It didn’t make sense to people who weren’t involved in it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would he-.”  Pansy held up a hand to cut her off but didn’t stop her pacing.  She felt that if she stood too still right now she might just combust.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When he and I needed to talk about something serious and we wanted to be left alone where no one would find us we’d go sit out by black lake, discussing what it would feel like to just… let ourselves fall in and become prey to the giant squid.”  Pansy explained and she didn’t miss the disturbed look on Hermione’s face.  It wasn’t unfounded, she supposed.  She had just admitted that she’d thought about sacrificing herself to a giant sea creature.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that's rather morbid, love.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy sighed and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the dorm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on.”  Pansy grumbled, and they ran outside, and Pansy silently hoped to Merlin that they weren’t too late.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“DRACO?!”  Hermione shouted, and Pansy glanced around frantically.  Nothing yet.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“DRAY?  <em>DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY!”  </em>Pansy called, looking around the area.  Hermione reached over and smacked her lightly.  Pansy was too busy looking around to even notice the slight hit.<em><br/></em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans… <em>Pansy.</em>”  Hermione hissed and she huffed and looked over at her girlfriend, trying to quell her annoyance because it wasn't like Hermione had done anything wrong.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked and Hermione pointed out towards the west side of the lake.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s standing at the edge of the lake.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy scanned until she saw him, looking so small against the contrast of the large lake, and she felt her chest tug a bit as she sprinted towards him.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“DRACO NO!”  Pansy called, and Draco turned around, looking hollow and confused, his face red and blotchy from crying.  Pansy stopped a few feet away and took a couple deep breaths to regain her breathing pattern.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?”  He asked quietly, sounding so disconnected from the world at the moment.  It was a little bit heartbreaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, get away from there.”  Pansy said, and Draco sighed and looked down at the water.  He was far too close for Pansy’s comfort.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I can’t… I can’t let my father hear about this…”  Draco whispered, and Pansy took a step towards him, desperate to get him away from the edge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Drowning yourself isn’t the way to handle this.”  Pansy insisted and Draco shook his head, crossing his arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’ll kill me… he’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>kill me.”  Draco whispered, and Pansy swallowed heavily, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice as she stretched out her hand.  Sure, Draco could be a bit of a dick but she didn’t want him to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  They’d all but grown up together, she knew what he was feeling right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, please come here.”  Pansy pleaded, and Draco shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the lake below.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  He murmured, and Pansy sighed.  If it was going to come to this, it was only fitting they go down together.  She stepped to the edge beside him and cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”  Pansy said, and took off her tie before unbuttoning her shirt and shrugging it off her shoulders.  If she was diving in black lake, she wasn’t going to do it fully clothed, she loathed the feeling of wet clothing.  Draco raised his eyebrow at her, the franticness and fear gone for just a moment to utter confusion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?”  Draco asked and Pansy shrugged, pushing the hair out of her face and letting out a long sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to dive in and escape your horrible family, fine.  But I’m going with you, I’ve got no family to lose, just a beautiful girlfriend.  Sorry babe, you understand, yeah?”  Pansy asked, not even casting her eyes back.  She kept them on Draco, for fear he would still jump in, even though now someone could see him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well-.”  Hermione started to protest, but Pansy held up a hand to silence her, still staring hard at Draco.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  So… are we doing this?  Total and complete oblivion this early on a Friday morning?”  Pansy asked, and Draco finally tore his eyes off of the water and sighed, stepping back just a tiny bit.  Tiny victory in Pansy’s eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I’m not letting you drown yourself with me, Pansy.”  Draco sighed and Pansy shrugged.  It wasn’t like she was just going to walk away and let him drown.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then you’re not drowning yourself because if you jump in, I’m jumping in after you.  I am mildly curious how it would feel to be suffocated by the giant squid.”  Pansy said, trying to lighten the mood a little… it didn’t work, but it never hurt to try.  Draco took three paces back from the lake and took a shaky breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Pansy.”  Draco said, and his voice sounded so broken.  She turned to face him head on and was nearly knocked over by the force of his arms around her, but she was able to stumble a bit and catch them.  She closed her eyes and pressed her head against his chest, rubbing small patterns along his back in an attempt to soothe him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… hey… it's okay, Draco.  It’s alright.” Pansy mumbled against his chest, feeling momentarily awkward about the fact that she wasn’t wearing her shirt, but she forced the feeling away and hugged Draco tightly as he sobbed silently into her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No I’m… he’s…”  Draco couldn’t get a full sentence out between short, pained breaths.  Pansy shushed him and held him tighter, thinking up ways that she could possibly kill Lucius Malfoy before he got to his own son.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shhhh.  Calm down.  Lucius won’t hear about it, alright?”  Pansy murmured and Draco let out a heavy breath and shivered.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I don’t even know how someone got a hold of that letter…”  Draco said, and he still sounded lost on that part, and Pansy didn’t blame him.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’d you keep it?”  Pansy asked and Draco let out a long breath and looked her in the eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In my dorm… in my <em>personal </em>things.”  Draco whispered, and Pansy’s jaw clenched.  She had a very vivid thought about committing ritualistic murder, but she pushed that down as best as she could.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll kill each and every one of them until they confess.”  Pansy growled and Hermione cleared her throat, taking a step towards them cautiously.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not to butt in, but they can’t exactly confess if they’re dead.”  Hermione pointed out and, and Pansy set her a pointed glare.  Just because she was right doesn't mean she needed to say it right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your logic is a buzzkill right now, ‘Mione.”  She muttered, and Hermione chuckled and held up her hands in defense.  Draco lifted his head up and looked over at Hermione.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry… is Harry okay, Granger?”  Draco asked, and Hermione cleared her throat and nodded, taking a few steps forward before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he’s… he’s actually fine.  Worried about you, but fine.”  She insisted and Draco let out a sigh of relief and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good… I don’t want him to get hurt, you see… that's part of the reason for all the secrecy.”  Draco explained and Hermione nodded.  Pansy suspected she’d figured that out on her own, she was smart enough.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Hermione said and Draco cleared his throat, standing silently for a moment before speaking, clearly thinking about what he wanted to say.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I <em>am </em>sorry I had your girlfriend lying to you.”  He said, and he still sounded like it pained him to apologize to Hermione.  Pansy almost pointed that out, but Hermione shook her head and reached out a hand onto Draco’s shoulder.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No… Mal-Draco.  There’s nothing to be apologizing for, your family dynamic is… frightening to say the least, and Pansy wouldn’t have talked about it even if you gave her permission to I’m pretty sure.”  Hermione said, and he looked confused by this.  Did he <em>honestly </em>think Pansy would retaliate and out him like he’d outed her?  That’d be insane.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”  Draco asked and Pansy chuckled and cleared her throat, reaching up to gently pat his cheek.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude, I know what happens when a pureblood’s gay.  It’s a death sentence.”  Pansy said plainly and she meant it.  Draco sighed and took a deep breath, nodding his head.  She knew that he knew that, but Pansy felt he could use a reminder that someone did know what he was thinking right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right, right.”  Draco muttered.  Pansy chewed on her lip for a moment before speaking, reaching up to rub small circles on his upper back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… it’s gonna be okay, alright?”  She said quietly and Draco let out a long breath and looked at her with such despair in his eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you figure?”  Draco asked, and Pansy wished she could give him something solid to hold onto with that statement, but she couldn’t.  She just wanted him to feel a bit calmer in the moment and that's what people are taught to say.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve just got a feeling, yeah?  Can you believe me?”  Pansy asked, and Draco paused for a moment, like he was actually weighing the pros and cons of this.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I can try.”  Draco sighed and Pansy nodded.  Good, she’d take him trying right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna walk you up to your dorm, alright?”  Hermione said gently, and this seemed to confuse Draco.  It shouldn’t, Pansy had just had to <em>literally </em>talk him off the edge.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  He asked and Pansy sighed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I don’t fully trust that you’ll get yourself up there.”  Pansy explained, and Draco nodded, as if that made sense.  It did make sense, it made <em>perfect </em>sense.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  Okay.”  Draco said, and the three of them walked down to the Slytherin commons, and Pansy was careful to make sure Draco had himself wrapped in a blanket, facing the wall before she walked back out to where Hermione was standing in her common room.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well now that that’s over I-.”  Pansy was cut off by Hermione reaching out and wrapping her arms around her waist, looking into her eyes with a sort of fierce love that Pansy knew she should be used to by now, but it still caught her by surprise.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry I got so mad.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy swallowed heavily, glancing between her lips and her eyes.  This was probably the <em>wrong </em>place to want to kiss her, anyone could come in here… well, any <em>Slytherin</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, it's okay, you were just-.”  She supposed there were worse ways to be cut off then being kissed by a beautiful girl.  Pansy’s knees honestly went a little weak with the amount of ferocity powering Hermione’s kiss, it sent the two girls stumbling back a bit, until Pansy’s knees hit the back of the common room couch, and she reached out a hand to steady them, careful to not break their contact.  Hermione pulled back, despite Pansy’s sounds of protest and rested their foreheads together. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You kept my best friend’s secret.  Even though you don’t like him.”  Hermione murmured, twirling the hair at the nape of Pansy’s neck with her fingers.  Pansy shrugged and flashed a lazy smile.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, Potter’s started to grow on me.”  Pansy confessed, and she meant that.  After their common room encounter, he didn’t seem as… aloof.  He seemed a little more like a normal person that Pansy could tolerate being around.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Hermione asked, her eyes lighting up a tiny bit.  Pansy nodded and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Hermione’s neck, taking note of her quick intake of breath.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  He’s not <em>so </em>bad.”  Pansy murmured against the skin of her neck, lightly grazing the skin with her teeth.  She grinned when she felt Hermione’s hands tighten a little bit on her hair before she sighed and cleared her throat to respond.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no he’s not.”  Hermione sighed, her voice coming out a bit higher than usual as she dragged Pansy back to her mouth and let out a content sigh against her.  Pansy let this continue for a couple of moments before pulling back and smiling at the girl in her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you just plan on kissing me until I can’t think straight in the middle of my common room?  Not that I’m complaining, but people could walk in, you know?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione chewed on her lip before responding.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… this all depends.”  She sighed and Pansy cocked an eyebrow and smirked.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione looked down at the ground and shrugged before looking back into her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If your dorm is empty.”  She murmured and this did make Pansy chuckle slightly.  Of course she could empty the dorm, but not before she pointed out the obvious double standard.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Yours </em>wasn’t.”  Pansy pointed out, and she wondered if maybe Hermione wanted the dorm to be empty because she was scared Daphne or Tracey might bully her or something, but they hadn’t done that in months so it had to be something else.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but my roommates are <em>far </em>more discreet.”  Hermione reminded her, and yeah, maybe that was true but she didn’t have to say it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not-Okay.  That’s only a <em>little </em>bit true.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione smirked at her, looking far too smug for the other girl’s choice.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I thought.”  Hermione said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before pulling back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go look, you wait here.” Pansy said and Hermione nodded, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.”  She said, and Pansy took a deep breath before going into her dorm, holding her breath once she was inside.  So far there didn’t appear to be anyone, but she should verbally check, it was only fair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone in here?”  Pansy called, and she cursed to herself when Tracey glanced out from Daphne’s bed and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  Yeah.”  She said, and Pansy walked quickly over to where Tracey was sitting with Daphne’s head in her lap.   She sighed and crossed her arms, looking at the two girls.  Did she feel a little bad that she had to do this?  Yes.  Was she still going to do it?  Absolutely.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Get out.” Pansy sighed and Tracey’s eyebrow shot up in confusion.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?!  I live here too!”  Tracey protested, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes.  She’d left the dorm a million times for both Daphne <em>and </em>Tracey, it was only fair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because Hermione is out in the common room and-.”  Tracey sighed and continued running her fingers through Daphne’s hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want some privacy?”  She asked and Pansy cleared her throat and looked away, suddenly a bit embarrassed at the fact that she had to ask about this.  Life was a lot easier when she just spent her time brooding.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Yeah.”  Pansy muttered, and Tracey gave her a small smirk and chuckled.  Pansy really didn't appreciate the tone of that chuckle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you could’ve started with that.  C’mon, Daph.”  Tracey muttered, smacking Daphne’s shoulder.  She let out an angry groan and sat up, glaring at Tracey and then at Pansy, which <em>was </em>fair considering the way she was woken up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was <em>sleeping</em>.”  Daphne spat and Tracey sighed and stood up, stretching before looking back down at Daphne.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can sleep on the common room couch, let's go.”  Tracey said, pulling a protesting Daphne to her feet and yanking her towards the door.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’d better be worth it, Parkinson.”  Daphne grumbled, and Tracey smacked her upside the head before wrapping her arm around the other girl’s waist, shooting Pansy a quick look before turning back to Daphne.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already know that she is.”  Tracey muttered to Daphne as she led the other girl out of the room, leaving Pansy to decide whether or not she and Hermione should just go to class instead.  The decision was made for her by Hermione coming into the room, causing Pansy’s mind to wipe clear of all coherent thought.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Chapter 35</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Homophobia</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After they’d skipped their first class yesterday, Pansy had convinced Hermione to skip the whole day, especially after she’d revealed that she hadn’t even skipped a class at Hogwarts before.  Pansy had missed full days, and it was nice sometimes to just relax.  And they had done just that, with Daphne and Tracey, and try as she might, Daphne had <em> not </em> been able to convince Hermione to smoke, especially after Pansy told her in no uncertain terms to knock it the fuck off.  Pansy opened her eyes and stretched, feeling like she was being watched, and she was right because when she turned over, she was greeted with an awake Hermione, nose to nose with her, and she almost screamed before remembering that <em> yes </em> she’d agreed to this the night before. </p><p>“Hey…” Pansy said, once her heart rate slowed down.  Hermione leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips before speaking.</p><p>“Are you going to the quidditch match today?” Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed, well that was quite the morning topic, completely out of the blue.  She stared up at the top of her tapestry, tracing the skin on Hermione’s shoulder.</p><p>“I wasn’t <em> initially </em> planning on it, but considering everything that happened yesterday, I suppose I could use a bit of an escape.  You?”  Pansy  asked and Hermione nodded, sitting up a tiny bit to rest her chin on Pansy’s chest. </p><p>“Mhm.  Who's playing today?”  She asked, and Pansy had to think.  She knew Draco had mentioned it, so she knew Slytherin was playing… either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, but she didn’t remember.</p><p>“Slytherin and Ravenclaw I think.”  Pansy said, and once it came out of her mouth she was 90% sure she had the teams correct.  Hermione’s face fell a bit and she curled back into Pansy’s side before speaking.</p><p>“Oh.  Maybe I won’t go if thats the case.”  she said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Why bother asking if she wasn’t even going to go?</p><p>“Why not?”  Pansy asked and Hermione shrugged.</p><p>“I don’t know, it's not like Harry’s playing.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy raised an eyebrow at her and smirked.  Now was the <em> perfect </em> time to call the last quidditch match into memory. </p><p>“What if I give you my scarf?”  Pansy asked and Hermione smiled at her and raised an eyebrow, leaning up to press a quick kiss to her lips before speaking.</p><p>“Hm.  Wasn’t that my move?  Even if you didn't quite pick up on it?”  She asked and Pansy nodded, pushing the hair out of Hermione’s face.</p><p>“Yes, and I’m stealing it, pretty sure it'll work better now that we're dating anyway.”  Pansy murmured, pressing a more solid kiss onto Hermione’s lips, easing into it with a smile on her face, until Hermione pulled back, her eyes still closed as she spoke.</p><p>“I <em> guess </em> I could go, yeah.”  Hermione said, obviously trying to make it sound like some kind of chore, but it didn’t exactly work when she was smiling. </p><p>“Awesome.”  Pansy said, and leaned over to open her bed curtain, only to be greeted with Daphne standing, hands on her hips, looking expectantly down at them.</p><p>“Oh good, you two are finally up.  I swear, you sleep like the dead.”  Daphne said in a faux bright voice, and Pansy let out a little shriek and recoiled back, really not expecting someone to be <em> right </em> outside her bed. </p><p>“<em> Merlin </em> , Daphne!  Boundaries!”  Pansy hissed, pulling her blanket higher on her chest.  She knew Daphne couldn’t see anything but that doesn’t mean she wanted her best friend staring at her in bed.  Daphne didn’t seem to notice her discomfort, she simply shrugged and leaned against one of the posts of the bed. </p><p>“There were boundaries, I didn’t open the curtain.”  Daphne said plainly before examining her fingernails.  Merlin, sometimes Pansy could just kill her.</p><p>“That is <em> hardly </em> giving me boundaries.”  Pansy said through gritted teeth.  Daphne rolled her eyes and pushed off of the post, running her fingers through her hair before pulling it back into a tight ponytail. </p><p>“Whatever.  You two, get dressed, we can walk down to breakfast together.”  She said and Hermione raised an eyebrow and sat up a bit.</p><p>“Wow, Daphne… how kind-.”  Pansy cut her off and shook her head, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of her head.</p><p>“Don’t speak too soon, this could be some kind of trap.”  Pansy mumbled against her temple, and she knew she was right, Daphne wouldn’t offer that unless she needed them for something that she couldn’t do with just Tracey.</p><p>“I need Blaise to see that I’m not paying attention to that stupid fucking Ravenclaw hanging off his arm.”  Daphne explained, and Pansy let a self satisfied smile spread across her face.  She knew Daphne wasn’t going to be that nice this early.</p><p>“And there you have it.”  Pansy mumbled, and Daphne clapped her hands together to silence her, and glared down.</p><p>“Okay!  Five minutes, meet Tracey and I in the common room.”  Daphne instructed, and Pansy rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Got it.”  She muttered, and once Daphne had left, she swung herself out of bed, and she and Hermione busied themselves with getting ready.  Once she was dressed, Pansy walked over and wrapped the Slytherin scarf around Hermione’s neck, causing the girl to jump a little bit.  She couldn’t have thought Pansy was kidding, right?</p><p>“Pansy, what are you doing?”  Hermione asked cautiously, and Pansy caught her eye in the mirror and smirked</p><p>“Adjusting your scarf?”  Pansy said with a slight chuckle in her voice.  Hermione raised her eyebrow at the Slytherin, and Pansy tried not to laugh at the comical look of confusion on her face.</p><p>“You expect me to wear that down to the Great Hall?”  Hermione asked, as though Pansy had just asked her to eat giant slugs.</p><p>“Mhm.”  Pansy said simply, wrapping her arms around Hermione’s shoulders and resting her chin on the other girl’s shoulder.  It was humorous, watching all the emotions go across Hermione’s face in the mirror.</p><p>“Pansy-.”  Hermione started, but Pansy put a finger to her lips before she could logic her way out of this.</p><p>“It's not warm out, plus… I would <em>love </em>to see the Gryffindor table reaction.  You don’t have to keep it on the whole time, just humor me.”  Pansy said, putting on a fake pout.  Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.</p><p>“...Fine.”  She finally said, and Pansy smiled down at her and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before they exited the dorm.</p><p>“You two read-Hermione, that's the wrong scarf.”  Daphne said, sounding a little bit confused.  Hermione let out a frustrated huff and crossed her arms as Pansy wrapped her arm around the other girl’s shoulders.</p><p>“No.  It’s not.  My <em>lovely </em>girlfriend has decided she wants to see a riot ensue when I sit down for breakfast.”  Hermione grumbled, and Pansy rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss into Hermione’s temple.</p><p>“You’re being dramatic-.”  She started, and Hermione glared up at her.  If anyone else were to give her that look she’d hex them on the spot, but it was almost endearing when Hermione did it at this point.</p><p>“Am I?  Must I remind you what happened the first time you came into the Gryffindor commons?”  Hermione snapped, and Pansy thought for a moment.  What <em>had </em>happened the first time she’d gone in there?  Once she remembered, a smile spread across her face, despite the smack to the shoulder she received for having a positive reaction to the memory.</p><p>“You punched McLaggen?” Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded.</p><p>“Mhm.”  She murmured, and Pansy heard Tracey let out a surprised chuckle and looked over to see Daphne and Tracey were both listening rather intently.</p><p>“Alright, now I also want to see this.  Could make breakfast far more interesting.”  Tracey said, a mischievous smile beaming on her face.  Hermione looked stricken, clearly a little concerned that the one who was normally levelheaded was egging this on.</p><p>“Tracey-.”  Hermione tried, but the other girl shook her head and pushed off the back of the common room couch, pulling Daphne with her.</p><p>“Nope.  I’m already on board, sorry Granger.  Now come on.”  Tracey said, and Hermione rolled her eyes</p><p>“Ugh.”  She said, but she did follow, and she did still let Pansy hold her hand, meaning Pansy breathed easy.  Hermione wasn’t actually mad at her, that was good.  Once they got to the great hall, Pansy gave Hermione a chaste kiss and the three Slytherin’s continued their walk to their table, hearing a slight ruckus behind them.</p><p>“-Do you think you’re wearing?!”  Pansy heard a Gryffindor say, and she looked over her shoulder to see Hermione’s jaw was set and her grip was deathly tight on her fork as she tried to ignore the guy talking to her.</p><p>“Oh this is already getting good, and we haven’t even sat down yet.”  Daphne whispered as they made it around the side of their table and found three empty spots.  Pansy looked back across the room and saw Hermione locked in an altercation.</p><p>“-Fucking snake’s scarf.”  The boy said, his voice loud enough that they could hear it across the room.  Hermione stood up and lunged at the boy, or tried to but both Harry and Ron were holding her back, keeping her from making the altercation physical.</p><p>“Woah!  Okay, I know Granger’s fiery but it always surprises me when she goes all ‘traditional Gryffindor’ and doesn’t give a shit.”  Tracey chuckled, and Daphne nodded, all three girls eyes still trained on the Gryffindor who was yelling <em>something</em>, but it wasn’t exactly clear what.  Pansy didn’t care, it was still hot to see her like that.</p><p>“Yeah… It’s pretty hot.”  Daphne mumbled, and Pansy glared over at her, smacking the back of her head lightly.  She was allowed to call her own girlfriend hot, it was weird to hear her friends do it.</p><p>“Oi!”  Pansy snapped, and Daphne rolled her eyes, clearly over the whole protective girlfriend act.</p><p>“Oh come on, Pansy, you’re dating her, obviously you think she’s hot.”  Daphne pointed out and Pansy sighed.  Of course she did, that was <em>her </em>fucking girlfriend, she was allowed to find her hot… so were other people, just not her friends.  That felt a little too… intimate for her liking.</p><p>“Yes.  <em>I </em>think she’s hot.”  Pansy grumbled, and Daphne shook her head and chuckled</p><p>“Merlin, you are… <em>something</em>.”  Daphne said and Pansy grimaced at that.  It had sounded alien for Daphne to not just call her a bitch or a wanker.  Calling her ‘something’ felt like she was being insulted by someone she didn’t know.</p><p>“Just call me a wanker like normal, Daph.  Being overly nice isn’t going to make Blaise take you back.”  Pansy mumbled, and Tracey nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, he’d be more likely to take you back if you were a total dick, hun.”  She said gently, and Daphne’s jaw dropped as she looked over at the other girl, as if she hadn’t expected that.  She should’ve, Pansy thought, it wasn’t as if Tracey was never sarcastic.</p><p>“Okay, I can’t just be nice?!”  Daphne asked, and Pansy shook her head.  The last time Daphne was this nice to her was when she stole her entire stash and tried to lie about it.</p><p>“Not normally, no.  I can’t really think of anything nice you’ve done without being told you’d get something in return.”  Pansy said, and Daphne gasped and shoved her lightly, before crossing her arms across her chest.</p><p>“Wow.  Such nice <em>classy </em>friends I have.”  Daphne said sarcastically, and Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Oh come now, Daphne.  Even <em>before </em>I was disowned, I was pretty damn far from being classy.  Classy girls don’t get high in the bathroom before classes.”  Pansy reminded her, and Daphne shrugged and looked over at her.</p><p>“I don’t know, all the parties I’ve been to for my family would suggest otherwise.  I was hard pressed to find anyone sober.”  Daphne reminded her and Pansy thought for a moment.  She hadn’t noticed, but she guessed Daphne <em>was </em>right, sobriety was hardly the first thought in a pureblood’s mind.</p><p>“Okay, that's totally fair.”  Pansy reasoned and Daphne nodded.  It made Pansy <em>hate </em>agreeing with her, that stupid self satisifed smirk.</p><p>“I know it is.”  Daphne said and it was like Tracey could <em>feel </em>the goddamn tension because she cleared her throat and leaned around Daphne.</p><p>“Pans, do you ever miss being in the pureblood society?”  Tracey asked and Pansy paused and set her fruit back down, because she hadn’t been expecting that question to ever really come up again.  She rested her chin in her hand as she looked over at the other girl.</p><p>“Honestly?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey nodded.</p><p>“Mhm.” She murmured and Pansy thought for a moment.  She knew she wouldn’t miss the society, even when she was in it, but she missed <em>aspects </em>of her old life, things that anyone would miss, she thought.</p><p>“Not really, I wasn’t really living when I was in that society.  Do I miss the money?  Absolutely, but I don’t miss having to basically put on a show for the adults so I could keep my most basic human rights.”  Pansy reasoned, and Daphne rolled her eyes and nodded.</p><p>“Ugh, that's totally fair.  I’m not looking forward to the day my mother makes me accept a betrothal, I think I’d rather die lonely than marry in pureblood society.”  She said, taking a sip from her cup.  Her answer confused Pansy a bit because she’d been <em>obsessed </em>with Blaise for so long, it just seemed logical that she would want to marry him.</p><p>“What about Blaise?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne looked at her, clearly confused.  Pansy didn’t get what was confusing about this, the question had been very straightforward, and something that normally Daphne would answer without hesitation.</p><p>“What about him?”  Daphne asked, taking another bite of her toast.  This confused Pansy because honestly… ‘what about him’?  Like she <em>hadn’t </em>been obsessing over him every day of her life since they’d hit fourth year.</p><p>“You’d marry him, wouldn’t you?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shook her head.  Tracey’s reaction to this was almost comical, with the way her spoon clattered down onto her plate as her mouth dropped open.  Pansy would’ve laughed if she wasn’t equally as surprised.</p><p>“No, he doesn’t seem the type to settle down easily, you know.  Like yes, he’s handsome, but he’s a bit dickish, even I can admit that much.”  Daphne said, and Pansy let out a sigh of relief.  It was like some kind of miracle.</p><p>“Finally.”  Tracey breathed, from her spot next to Daphne.  But she seemed to be ignored as Daphne went on.  Wanker.</p><p>“Now <em>Theo </em>on the other hand.  There’s a man who could make a good husband, even if I'm not attracted to him really.  He’s funny, he listens-.”  Tracey cut her off with a smirk.</p><p>“He knows how to sneak in firewhiskey.”  She added, and Daphne gave her a funny look and shook her head.</p><p>“Not a marrying trait, but… I suppose that is a good thing to be able to do.” Daphne reasoned and Pansy let out a sigh and cleared her throat.</p><p>“Okay, I don’t mean to cut this… interesting conversation short, but we’re going to be late if we don’t.”  Pansy pointed out and Daphne nodded, standing up from her seat along with the other two.</p><p>“Oh shit.  You’re right.”  She said, and the three girls made their way towards the doors, and waited just outside them until Hermione emerged.  Pansy took her hand and brought the back of it to her lips, leaving a soft kiss as they began to walk.</p><p>“You know you guys didn’t have to wait for me, right?”  Hermione asked, and Daphne chuckled, looping an arm through Hermione’s.  Pansy shot her one warning look, but the other girl didn’t really seem to notice.</p><p>“Nonsense, you’ll get less harassment for wearing that scarf if you’re surrounded by three scary Slytherins.”  Daphne said, and Hermione let out a snort and shook her head at this, as though the idea of them scaring people was completely preposterous.  It was not, and Pansy knew that for a fact.</p><p>“Please, you three are far from scary.  Intimidating, maybe but I don’t think you strike fear in the hearts of much of anyone.”  Hermione said with a knowing voice and Daphne scoffed and unlooped their arms.</p><p>“Oh I’ll get you back for that one.”  Tracey said, but the evident smile on her face told the world that she wasn’t really angry.  Pansy had seen her angry before and it was far from the calm sight she was seeing right now.  Hermione, for her part, smirked back and nodded before resting her head on Pansy’s arm.</p><p>“I don’t doubt it, Davis.”  She said, and once they were at the entrances to the stands, Pansy stopped Hermione and put a hand on either of her shoulders, looking down into her eyes.</p><p>“Hey... defending my honor was rather chivalrous of you.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione looked up at her and smiled, reaching up to squeeze her hand lightly.</p><p>“Well, it was as much my honor as it was yours, couldn’t have someone talking shit about my girlfriend and just stand by.  That wouldn’t say much in the way of Gryffindor courage, now would it?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy let out a light chuckle and shook her head.  She guessed not.</p><p>“I suppose not, no.”  Pansy said with a small smile, and Hermione nodded, holding onto the front of Pansy’s robe lightly, as if she was scared the other witch was going to walk away at any moment.</p><p>“Exactly.”  She said, and from a little bit behind her, Pansy heard Daphne let out a frustrated sigh.</p><p>“C’mon, Pans.  We’re gonna be stuck with the worst seats at this rate, and I don't want to be stuck next to some first year.”  Daphne whined and Pansy waved vaguely back at them, not taking her eyes off of Hermione.</p><p>“Got it, got it.  I’ll catch up, okay?”  She said over her shoulder, and Daphne rolled her eyes, placing a hand on pansy’s shoulder.</p><p>“Better make it fast, Parkinson.  Match is already started.”  She muttered, and Hermione sighed and crossed her arms.</p><p>“Piss off, will you?  She'll be ready in a moment, like she said.”  Hermione snapped and Daphne raised an eyebrow and grinned at the Gryffindor, clearly not intimidated.</p><p>“Ooo.  Granger’s got an <em>attitude </em>today, I’ll keep that in mind.”  Daphne teased, and Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.</p><p>“Shut it, Greengrass.”  Hermione warned and Daphne chuckled and held up her hands in surrender before speaking.</p><p>“Noted.”  She sighed, and walked over to the stairs up to the Slytherin stands and waited next to Tracey.</p><p>“I’ll see you after the match, Granger.  Try not to miss me too much, alright?”  Pansy said with a wink and Hermione rolled her eyes before hopping up on toes to kiss Pansy quickly.</p><p>“Wouldn’t dream of it, people would start thinking I <em>like</em> you or something...  can't have that, love.”  She murmured against the Slytherin’s lips before they broke apart and Hermione made her way to the Gryffindor stands.</p><p>“You two are positively sickening together.  Far too sweet.”  Daphne said, her nose wrinkled in mock disgust.  The expression changed to laughter when Pansy lightly shoved her and stomped a little bit ahead of the other two girls.</p><p>“Shut up, Daph.”  Pansy grumbled as they climbed the steps and settled into their seats.  They were silent for about five minutes before Daphne leaned close to Pansy’s ear.</p><p>“Draco’s flying is really smooth today, he’s playing pretty well.”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy sighed, her eyes following Draco’s platinum hair as he raced around the field.  She had to admit, his hair color <em>was </em>distinctive enough that it was a defining factor, which was nice.</p><p>“Yeah, all things considered it's a goddamn miracle.”  Pansy murmured back, and Tracey sighed from Pansy’s other side and leaned into her a bit.</p><p>“Did you feel a bit of vengeance, you know, he outed you and then he <em>got </em>outed himself.”  Tracey pointed out, and Pansy was quick to shake her head.  Especially after Black Lake, she wished this had never happened to Draco.</p><p>“Merlin no, I don’t wish what happened to me on anyone.  Especially not on another pureblood, we learned what happens with that one.”  Pansy reminded her, and Tracey grimaced.  While she hadn’t been there when Pansy’s parents had attempted to obliviate her, Pansy knew that it had still sunk in.</p><p>“Right, right.”  She muttered, and Pansy was desperate for a change of subject in that moment, sitting in this was uncomfortable.</p><p>“Lets just watch the match, yeah?”  Pansy asked, and leaned her chin on her hand as she watched the players zip around.</p><p>“Do you think Draco checks out the other guys when he’s changing.  I bet he does, people like him shouldn’t be allowed in locker rooms.  Who knows what they’ll do, you know?”  Pansy heard someone laugh from behind her and went rigid before standing up and coming face to face with a fifth year boy.</p><p>“What did you just say?”  Pansy asked in a low voice, and the boy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, leaning down a bit so he was face to face with Pansy.</p><p>“Nothing to you, dyke.”  He spat, and Pansy let out a faux-amused chuckle, closing her fingers around her wand.</p><p>“Wow.  Before I was just a little annoyed, but now I’d <em>really </em>like to know how it feels to break that prettyboy jaw of yours.”  Pansy snapped, and the boy scoffed and rolled his eyes, looking far too confident in himself.  Pansy <em>really </em>was itching to knock him down a few pegs.</p><p>“I’d like to see you try.”  He said, and Pansy pulled her wand out fully, still keeping it concealed in her robe’s sleeve.</p><p>“Trust me, you wouldn’t.”  She said, keeping her voice calm and cool.  Daphne stood up and tugged a bit on Pansy’s hand, trying to pull her down.</p><p>“Pansy, just sit down-.”  Pansy interrupted her, glaring down at the girl.  Where was the Daphne that had nearly gotten in a fist fight when people made jokes about <em>Pansy </em>being outed?  Obviously Draco wasn’t a close friend of Daphne’s but it should be the principle of the thing.</p><p>“No!  Would you just sit down if someone was talking like that about <em>me?</em>”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shook her head.</p><p>“Of course not but you already have-.”  Pansy knew what she was going to say.  ‘You’ve already got detention every Sunday for the rest of term, what else do you want’ but she didn’t care about that.</p><p>“They can expel me for all I care, this douche isn’t going to get away with the shit he’s talking right now.”  Pansy hissed, and Daphne sighed.</p><p>“I can get where you’re coming from but-.”  Pansy nodded curtly and cut her off, staring back up at the boy.</p><p>“Good, you understand.  Now sit back down, Daph.”  Pansy ordered, and she knew that Daphne didn’t want to, but the girl reluctantly sat back down.</p><p>“This really isn’t smart to do.”  She pointed out, and Tracey nodded before piping up from her spot.</p><p>“Pansy just-.”  Pansy held up a hand to silence her.  This was important.</p><p>“I’m not just letting it go.  He doesn't deserve to get away with saying shit like that about anyone.”  Pansy snapped, her eyes still trained on the boy, not daring to look away.  He scoffed and crossed his arms.</p><p>“Oh come on, everyone here probably agrees with me.  He’s a fucking-.”  Pansy cut him off and shoved her wand in his face, willing herself to not say anything yet.  It was getting increasingly difficult.</p><p>“Say it again.  See what happens.”  Pansy snapped, and the fifth year rolled his eyes and glanced down at her wand.</p><p>“You don’t have the balls to actually hex someone.”  The boy sneered, and Pansy pressed her wand to his throat, her gaze blank.  She was beyond wanting him to just apologize, no, she wanted to make him <em>suffer</em>.</p><p>“Try me.”  She growled and the boy shook his head and pushed her wand back, sending a glare her way.</p><p>“I’d back up if I were you, Parkinson.  Haven't got daddy's money to protect you anymore.”  He warned and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Like she was really afraid of some fifth year douchebag who doesn’t understand common courtesy.</p><p>“I don't need any money protecting me, I don’t see that happening.  I'm not afraid of you, I’ll make you-.”  Pansy didn’t get to finish her sentence before the boy shoved her back and she tripped over her row of seats and fell, headfirst into one of the supporting planks of wood and lost consciousness.</p><hr/><p>Pansy groaned as she woke up, feeling her head throbbing a bit.  As the room came into view, she saw she was in the infirmary, and turned to see Hermione waiting in a chair.  Pansy cleared her throat and the girl looked up.</p><p>“Ugh.  What the fuck happened?”  Pansy groaned, and Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her hair, her gaze going from soft to a little bit pissed off in just one moment.  Quite the mood change, Pansy noted.</p><p>“You let your temper take over <em>again</em>.”  Hermione snapped, and Pansy raised her eyebrow as it started coming back to her.  She didn’t lose her <em>temper; </em>she did what the situation called for, even if it rendered her unconscious.</p><p>“Hm?  Really?”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione nodded, fiddling with her fingers as she spoke.</p><p>“Yeah, Daphne had to carry you to the infirmary.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy chuckled.  She could hold this over Daphne’s head for <em>years</em>.  Proof of human emotion?  The most priceless tool.</p><p>“Interesting.  I didn’t know she did that.”  Pansy said, and Hermione rolled her eyes and started bouncing her leg a bit.</p><p>“<em>Obviously </em>you didn’t, you were goddamn unconscious!”  She snapped, and Pansy let out an amused chuckle and shifted so she was laying on her back again.</p><p>“No need to yell, darling.  Clearly I’m fine.”  Pansy pointed out, and for a moment Hermione was silent, before she piped up again.</p><p>“You know, if you were a muggle you’d probably be dealing with a pretty bad concussion, but Madame Pomfrey was able to heal you right up.  You just need to rest and be observed for the next hour or so.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy did want to ask what a concussion was, but from the matter-of-fact way that Hermione had said it, it seemed like something she was supposed to know.</p><p>“Well, I suppose that's not terribly wrong.  I wished I’d gotten to finish what I was saying to that guy.”</p><p>“I don’t, because I’m pretty sure if you had I would’ve had to accompany you to the <em>headmaster’s </em>office, instead of trailing behind Daphne all the way to the infirmary.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy knew that she wasn’t wrong.  She was ready to be expelled during that argument.</p><p>“Where is she?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione looked confused for a moment before deducing that she was talking about Daphne, and she tilted her head towards the door.</p><p>“Getting a textbook so she and I can study for our potions exam.”  She explained, and Pansy nodded.  She could honestly use the review as well.</p><p>“Wise use of time.  Think I could join in?”  She asked, and with the way Hermione was looking at her, you’d think Pansy asked to burn the school down or something.</p><p>“Absolutely not, you’re just going to rest.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She’d only been awake for a few minutes and she was already <em>bored</em>.</p><p>“That sounds like a complete waste of time.”  Pansy complained, and Hermione arched her brow and leaned forward, hovering an inch from her lips.</p><p>“Hm.  You seem to think you had a say in that.  You don’t, just to be clear.”  Hermione reminded her, and Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved her back into her seat.  Merlin, she was so lucky she was cute.</p><p>“Right, right.  I forgot my girlfriend is all knowing.”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione was about to respond when someone threw open the infirmary doors.</p><p>“No, your girlfriend was just conscious when Madame Pomfrey was giving instruction.  Lay back down, Parkinson.”  Daphne snapped as she breezed back into the room and settled down next to Hermione, opening her textbook.  Pansy covered her face and shook her head before looking at them out of the slits between her fingers.</p><p>“Merlin, it's like having <em>two </em>of you.”  Pansy grumbled, and Daphne chuckled and shook her head, opening up her textbook.</p><p>“You flatter yourself, I’d never stoop low enough to date you.”  Daphne mumbled, and Pansy saw Hermione stifle a chuckle.  That was <em>rude; </em>her girlfriend was supposed to have her back!  And she was the one out of <em>Daphne</em>’s league, if she did say so herself.</p><p>“Oi!”  Pansy snapped, and Daphne shook her head.</p><p>“Kidding, <em>Merlin</em>, kidding!”  Daphne said with a chuckle, and Pansy nodded curtly, wincing at the pain in her neck.</p><p>“You’d better be, I’m not above getting out of this hospital bed and hexing you.”  Pansy warned, and Hermione gave her a look and shook her head.</p><p>“Still not going to let you move, even if Daphne <em>is</em> being a wanker.”  Hermione reasoned, and Daphne snorted and shook her head.</p><p>“Thanks for backing me up, Granger.  And here I thought we were maybe coming into a friendship.”  She joked, and Hermione looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she reached over to turn the page in Daphne’s textbook.</p><p>“I don’t see that happening.”  Hermione said with a chuckle, and Daphne gave her a look of faux hurt before dropping the act.</p><p>“Fine, a mutual understanding of sorts.”  Daphne said, rolling her eyes, and Hermione offered her a small smirk.  Merlin, Pansy wondered if the two of them realized just how similar they could be sometimes.</p><p>“<em>That’s </em>more like it.”  Hermione said, and Daphne rolled her eyes and set her gaze on Pansy before leaning forward.</p><p>“Merlin, Pans… how do you put up with her?”  Daphne asked, and Hermione gasped and smacked the other girl’s head lightly.</p><p>“Hey!  I can hear you!”  Hermione reminded her, and Daphne shrugged while rubbing the spot that had been hit.</p><p>“Yes, you can hear me ask an honest question because I’m <em>concerned </em>for my friend’s well being because she’s putting up with you so willingly.”  Daphne said, and Pansy cleared her throat, actually wanting to answer this.</p><p>“She’s not annoying to <em>me</em>, which makes her pretty easy to deal with… Plus it's fun watching other people make your life miserable.”  Pansy said with a smile, and Daphne rolled her eyes and looked away from her.  Come on, she <em>had </em>to have seen that coming, Pansy thought, and if she hadn’t, that was on <em>her</em>.</p><p>“Why are we even friends?”  Daphne grumbled, and Pansy sat up on her elbows, or tried to before she was pushed gently back down on her bed.  This was getting old fast.</p><p>“Because I know how to get weed and I give it to you for free, I thought we’d established that.”  Pansy reminded her, and Daphne shook her head.  What does she mean <em>no</em>?  That’s literally what happened!</p><p>“Well no, that’s just <em>how </em>we became friends.”  Daphne said, and Pansy opened her mouth to respond again, but Hermione beat her to it.</p><p>“You two are friends because you’re both fucking wankers who play off of each other’s sarcasm.”  She sighed, and Daphne smirked at this, leaning over in her chair so she was looking Hermione in the face.</p><p>“You know, I’d be hurt if that wasn’t shockingly accurate.”  Daphne said, and leaned back up to her normal position.  Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.</p><p>“Of course it's accurate, people don’t call me the smartest witch of her age for nothing.”  Hermione said and Daphne raised her eyebrow.</p><p>“Yeah, who calls you that?  Like honestly, who calls you that?”  Daphne asked, and Hermione looked a little confused.  It wasn’t a hard question, at least in Pansy’s opinion.  If it was so widespread, someone had to have said it.</p><p>“Well… people.”  Hermione said simply, and even Pansy could admit that was a pathetic attempt at a response.</p><p>“So no one?  No one actually says that to you?”  Daphne offered, and Hermione sighed in frustration, almost making Pansy feel bad for mentally agreeing with Daphne.</p><p>“People have said it!”  She snapped, and this was clearly amusing Daphne quite a bit.  Pansy wanted to tell her to back off, but she also knew that if it got to be too much, Hermione could put her back in her place</p><p>“That does not mean that people call you that!”  Daphne sighed, and Hermione huffed and crossed her arms.</p><p>“I am allowed to claim the title if I wish to!”  She hissed, and that was when she fucked up, Pansy knew that was when she had fucked up from the amused look on Daphne’s face.  That had put the ball into Daphne’s court, and had opened it up so that Hermione could easily lose the argument.</p><p>“Oh, of course you are, and I’m allowed to claim the title of hottest Slytherin because one guy said it to me once.”  Daphne said with a smirk, and Hermione shook her head.</p><p>“That is not the same and you know it!”  Hermione said, her voice cracking a little bit as she responded, and Daphne narrowed her eyes a bit.  It was honestly a bit like watching Hermione argue with herself, Pansy thought.</p><p>“Do I?  Do I <em>really? </em>Because it seems about the same.”  Daphne pointed out and Hermione’s jaw dropped in shock, like she wasn’t expecting that response.  She should’ve, at least in Pansy’s mind, nothing was off limits for Daphne to say.</p><p>“I could hex you for that!”  Hermione muttered, and Daphne rolled her eyes and elbowed the other girl’s ribs.</p><p>“I’d <em>love </em>to see you try.”  Daphne responded, and an odd smile spread across Pansy’s face.  She liked watching her friends interact with her girlfriend overall, when they weren’t being wankers about anything, it made her feel comfortable.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0036"><h2>36. Chapter 36</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Time seemed to be going about fifteen times slower than it was supposed to be as Pansy stared down at her exam.  She swore she’d only learned half of this shit, it was infuriating.  Next to her, Hermione didn’t seem to be having the same problem as she sped through her exam.  Pansy found her eyes drawn to the other witch, it was a very enthralling sight to see, Hermione’s hair pulled out of her face, sleeves pushed up, tie slightly undone with the top button unbuttoned… she looked so academically ruffled.  Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>obsessed</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey…  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hey</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Granger!”  Pansy hissed, and Hermione let out a small huff and set down her quill, glaring over at Pansy.  She took that as a small victory, now they were both distracted.  She didn’t want Hermione to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she was just too bored to finish her exam… plus she only knew about half the answers anyways.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin.  What?”  Hermione whispered, and Pansy leaned her chin on both of her fists and gave her a serious look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you know what this exam is even about?”  She asked, and Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, flicking the hair out of her eyes.  Pansy hoped she wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>as annoyed as she looked right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re joking, right?”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy shook her head.  She had next to no idea what she was doing right now, and she had that stupid fifth year to blame for that.  It’s hard to study when you’re stuck in the infirmary for multiple hours and then have detention all of Sunday.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m-.”  Pansy’s response was interrupted by Slughorn clearing his throat and looking over at the two girls.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Parkinson, Ms. Granger.  Five points from Slytherin, five points from Gryffindor.”  He said, and Hermione sighed and rested her head against her forearms, and for a moment Pansy did feel bad for distracting her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn it.”  She groaned quietly, and then sat back up and picked up her quill.  Pansy let Hermione finish her test before kicking her lightly again to get her attention.  Hermione looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you mad at me?”  Pansy whispered, and Hermione gave her a reassuring smile and patted her hand lightly before leaning back to her side of the table.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, just… be quiet until the exam is over, okay?”  She whispered back, training her eyes forward again.  Pansy rolled her eyes and huffed, looking down at her exam again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy muttered.  She supposed she could look over it one more time, see if maybe there was anymore questions she possibly-</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright class!  Quills down!”  Slughorn called out and Pansy clenched her jaw.  Damn it, she didn’t even get a chance to check her work.  But that seemed about right for how this week was going.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.”  She muttered, and fiddled with the edge of her exam.  Hermione reached over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, looking at Pansy with some concern on her face.  Of course she knew it was worry, but it felt uncomfortably like pity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get to finish?”  Hermione whispered, and Pansy shook her head and gave her wry smile, drumming her fingers on the table.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, but granted…  I didn’t study much due to my eventful weekend.”  She sighed, and Hermione let out a deep breath and shook her head, her eyebrows drawn together.  Pansy could tell she was thinking about something, but she had no idea what it would be.  There was nothing Hermione could’ve done.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew I should’ve made you ask Slughorn for an extension.”  Hermione said, rubbing her temples lightly.  Pansy let out a small chuckle and shook her head.  As if any teacher would </span>
  <em>
    <span>willingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>give her an extension.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, he’d never let me have that, I’m not one of his many, many favorites.  I’m just me.”  Pansy snorted, and Hermione looked confused, of course she would… being friends with the </span>
  <span>Golden boy has its perks.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes but-.”  She started, and Pansy sighed and gave her a look that made her mouth snap shut in a moment.  Pansy softened her gaze and took Hermione’s hand, running her thumb over the top of it.  It wasn’t fair to get irritated at her, she didn’t do anything wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, it's one bad grade, I’ll be okay.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione paused for a moment before giving in and nodding, squeezing Pansy’s hand before letting it drop between them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but I’m quizzing you before our next exam.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes, but couldn’t fight the smile on her face.  Gives her more reason to spend time around her girlfriend, she wasn’t going to complain.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, sounds great.”  Pansy said, and waited for Slughorn to come collect her exam.  When he reached her, she handed the exam to him without looking, but he grabbed her wrist before she could let go and Pansy looked over in surprise, seeing him smiling down at her.  She knew for a fact that the smile was fake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Parkinson, with all that talking I hope the exam was simply a breeze for you.”  He said and Pansy put on the most convincing fake smile she could and yanked her wrist back, leaning back just a bit on her stool.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but of course Professor.  I’m just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>prodigy </span>
  </em>
  <span>at potions nowadays, didn’t you hear?”  She said, the sarcasm showing through at the end of her sentence.  Slughorn blinked, but said nothing more.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Well have a lovely day.”  Slughorn said, and walked off.  The second the class was dismissed, Pansy gathered her things and walked out as fast as possible, trying not to think about the slight dig Slughorn had done at her.  He hadn’t said anything to Hermione, and they both were being ‘disruptive’... Granted, Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one who started it, but still.  She was vaguely aware of Hermione all but jogging after her, but she ignored it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, slow down, will you?”  Hermione called after her, and Pansy did stop in her tracks and turned around, apparently a bit too fast because Hermione ran into her.  Pansy steadied her and took a deep breath.  There was no reason to be mad at Hermione.  She just needed to breathe.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I wasn’t meaning to speed off without you, I just-.”  Hermione leaned up and kissed her softly, rubbing her thumb across her cheek once they broke apart.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slughorn’s comment got a little under your skin, didn’t it?”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy leaned a bit into her hand and chuckled, shaking her head.  Like she’d ever say that out loud.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No, of course not.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione rolled her eyes and let out a long breath and rested her head on the other girl’s chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, it's okay to admit that something made you feel shitty.  It doesn’t make you weak or anything.” Hermione insisted, and Pansy shook her head.  She didn’t get it, and it would take too long to explain her complex feelings around failure.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right… except for the fact that it does-.”  Hermione cut her off and shook her head, cupping both of her hands on either side of Pansy’s face, making her look down into her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  Pansy, no.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy reached up and covered her hands, moving them down softly, feeling herself get a little bit irritated.  She was allowed to not admit that something made her feel shitty, especially if it reminded her of her childhood shit.  She just wanted to get over it for a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, really, it's okay-.”  Pansy started, and Hermione shook her head.  Why?  Why could it </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>just be okay for once?  Why did she have to explain herself every single time?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No it's not okay, you’re letting some stupid comment from a retired potions professor get you in a mood and thats about the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen you do.”  Hermione said and Pansy rolled her eyes, feeling her walls slam up for a moment on the word ‘stupid’.  Like Hermione could </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>understand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh well pardon me, we can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>have teachers fawning over us constantly.  Talk to me about this again when a teacher hates you for no reason.” Pansy snapped, and Hermione grimaced from her harsh words and sighed, reaching forward to tuck some of Pansy’s hair out of her eyes, but Pansy smacked her hand down.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, don’t be like this-.”  Pansy huffed and rolled her eyes, cutting Hermione off and glaring at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>being </span>
  </em>
  <span>like anything.”  She sighed, and Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, probably to center herself, before looking back at Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… then look at me.”  Hermione said gently, and Pansy glanced at her for a moment crossed her arms, shrugging.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>looking</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed, leaning forward a bit to take both of Pansy’s hands in hers, trying her best to look into Pansy’s eyes.  Granted, she kept trying to look away, Pansy was purposefully not looking in her eyes, she knew she was mad at Hermione for no reason.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop looking at me like you want to hex me.”  Hermione insisted softly and Pansy chuckled and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well-.”  Pansy started, meaning to sound lighthearted, but she did know for a fact that there was some edge in her voice right now.  Hermione shook her head and rubbed her thumbs over the tops of Pansy’s hands before squeezing them gently.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  If you’re mad, talk about it don’t hex me.”  She murmured, and Pansy could admit that that sounded a lot more healthy then what she had thought about doing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, I know.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione nodded, clearing her throat.  Pansy could tell she wanted to pry a bit, and she tensed just in case Hermione acted on that want. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand that you know, just… remember that I’m not trying to be against you.  Can you explain to me what made you so mad?”  Hermione asked.  Yup.  Prying, good on her for preparing a little bit.  Pansy closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, wanting to make sure that she wasn’t going to snap at her girlfriend </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The whole pushing me to admit that something made me feel shitty, I don’t know… Slughorn's comment, while far more docile and kind then what my father said, did strike a nerve on that strain.”  Pansy explained, and she was proud of herself for staying relatively calm.  Much to her relief, Hermione simply nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s entirely fair, I didn’t think of that.”  Hermione admitted, and Pansy felt a little bit more like putting some context into why she snapped at </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She supposed Hermione did deserve a bit of an explanation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then not letting me have my feelings about admitting that it made me feel shitty.  I grew up learning that feelings made you weak.  No one wanted to see a girl with negative feelings, and you <em>were </em>in fact the weakest person in the room if you expressed it.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione blinked and cleared her throat, and Pansy looked down and saw that both of her hands were clenched in fists.  Oh.  She hadn’t expected her to have such a… Physical reaction to hearing about Pansy’s childhood.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that's… not entirely healthy.”  Hermione murmured, trying and succeeding to keep her cool.  Pansy was impressed by that, but she had to chuckle at what Hermione said.  Of course it wasn’t healthy, she was hard pressed to find a pureblood <em>without </em>childhood trauma at this point.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My childhood was far from healthy, love.  You know that.”  Pansy reminded her, and Hermione gave her a look and sighed, running her fingers through her hair before responding.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right but… <em>Fuck</em>, Pansy.  I always end up forgetting that you really emerged pretty normal for what you went through.”  Hermione said, and Pansy shrugged and leaned against the wall again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh darling, I’m damaged but I don’t exactly <em>love </em>talking about it.”  Pansy said and Hermione nodded, crossing her arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, fair.  So… what can we do to help curb that anger response if a teacher flashes you back to childhood?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy thought for a moment.  The only way she could think of was to suddenly figure out a way to get perfect grades so none of this shit ever happened again and teachers didn’t have a reason to say anything sarcastic.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… I could actually get good grades.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione gave her a look of confusion.<br/>“Pansy, you normally do.  You were in the infirmary for most of Saturday and detention for most of Sunday, you had a pretty good excuse.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She didn’t believe her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, this time I do, but what about next time?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged, leaning back against the wall a bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we can work as hard as you want to make sure that there <em>isn’t </em>a next time.  Or, you could let me help you ask teachers for extensions when you need them.”  Hermione tried, and Pansy </span>
  <span>rolled her eyes.  She’d rather <em>die </em>than ask for an extension on anything.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need-.”  Hermione cut her off and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  It’s life, at some point or another, everyone needs an extension.  Plus, the worst thing they can say is no.”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed.  Who even knows if that could be the worst thing anymore.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not technically.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.  Shit.  She was going to ask what the worst thing was, Pansy had to think.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh? What is the worst thing they can say, darling?”   Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged, examining her nails.  She was right about what the next thing was going to be, but there hadn’t been enough time to think, so she was silent for a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They could threaten to use an unforgivable curse on me or something.”  She said, and Hermione shook her head and let out a small laugh.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, we both know the only professor we’ve ever had who would do that is Umbridge, and she wouldn’t touch a hair on your perfect Slytherin pureblood head.”  Hermione joked, but there was a bit of malice in her voice.  Pansy chuckled and leaned down, pressing a kiss on the top of Hermione’s head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Sounds like you’ve got some resentment left for me there, Granger.”  Pansy teased, and Hermione raised an eyebrow at her and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, why would I resent you for that?  It's not like you joined Umbridge's little group of approved bullies… oh wait!  You did <em>exactly </em>that.”  Hermione spat and Pansy chuckled in surprise.  She wasn’t expecting that kind of a response, it was a bit intense for the situation, at least in Pansy’s opinion.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Mione!  We weren’t even dating, I was so far in the closet that I didn’t even know that I could get out, and I was content with marrying <em>Draco Malfoy.  </em>Suffice to say a bit has changed since then.”  Pansy said defensively, and Hermione sighed and looked up at her, a question clearly forming in her mind.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Given the chance, would you join again?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy thought for a moment.  She assumed Hermione meant knowing what she knew now, and the answer to that was so simple.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, given the chance, knowing what I know now and being who I am now, I would make you fall for me sooner and snog you in the halls so I could annoy all the other students who couldn’t be within six inches of each other.”  Pansy said with a smirk, and she noted how Hermione looked shocked at what she said.  She cleared her throat before talking, looking up at Pansy with a sigh.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you are…”  Hermione trailed off and Pansy raised her eyebrow and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Extremely charming?”  Pansy tried, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but did smile a little bit as she was talking, like she couldn’t quite help it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... A wanker… but I’ll give you that that would be a very brave move… Pansy Parkinson, maybe you could’ve been a Gryffindor.”  Hermione said, and Pansy gave her a faux look of hurt.  It wasn’t <em>that </em>insulting to be called a Gryffindor anymore, but… still.  On principle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never insult me like that again.  Would you have done that?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione looked a bit lost.  Pansy supposed that did make sense, she had been a bit vague with what she was talking about.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Done what?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Snogged me in the halls.  Dated me if I’d asked you out earlier.”  Pansy said, and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, resting her head in her hands for a moment.  Pansy supposed that was a complex question, given their past, but she was curious.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin.  Okay.  Not the you I knew for my first five years at Hogwarts, I think that relationship would’ve been rather… unhealthy.” Hermione said carefully, as if she was afraid Pansy would disagree, which was insane.  No way would fifth year her date Hermione without knowledge of what was to come, it would never have worked.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too, don’t worry.”  Pansy agreed, and Hermione thought for a moment before clearing her throat to speak again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, if you’d presented the person you are today… I might’ve been inclined.  You already know that I found you to be quite attractive.”  Hermione reminded her, and Pansy felt her face got hot, but willed her expression to stay neutral, and raised an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really?  I hadn’t remembered.”  She said cooly, and Hermione rolled her eyes at this, and smacked her lightly on the arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I hate how much that strokes your ego.”  Hermione groaned, looking at Pansy through the slits in her fingers.  Pansy smirked and leaned a little bit closer before speaking again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you really?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and dropped her hands, glaring up at Pansy for a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No.”  She mumbled, and Pansy chuckled and wrapped her arm around Hermione’s shoulders.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  That’s what I thought.”  She said, and Hermione snorted and shoved Pansy’s hand arm off.  Rude.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sod off.”  Hermione laughed, and Pansy smiled and shook her head.  She wasn’t letting Hermione off <em>that </em>easy, she should know that by now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.  Sorry, you’re stuck with me.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, what a chore.”  She drawled, and Pansy’s jaw dropped.  She lightly smacked Hermione on the arm, and tried not to laugh.  It <em>was </em>a funny response.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione grinned up at her and rested her head on Pansy’s chest for a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kidding, I was only kidding!”  She insisted and Pansy faux-glared down at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d better be, Granger.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione chuckled and lifted her head up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and what would you do if I wasn’t, Parkinson?”  Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow, and Pansy turned a little and leaned onto the wall next to her and crossed her arms, doing her best to scowl.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you <em>love </em>to know.”  Pansy said, trying to sound harsh, but she only succeeded in breaking into a small chuckle as Hermione hopped up a bit and pressed a kiss to her lips.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy was convinced she was going to die.  That had to be the only logical response to climbing so many flights of stairs.  How did they do it every single day?  She preferred the walk to her common room, all down hill.  But this… this was a labor of love, that's for damn sure.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are the stairs up to your dorm so goddamn steep?”  Pansy gasped as they climbed up the third to the last staircase.  She admired how Hermione did it with such ease, well, admired and resented.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, maybe they just wanna make sure we get a workout in.”  Hermione said with a chuckle, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  If that was a joke it was a bit of a shitty attempt at one, but she decided to play along.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That must be it.  Or its survival of the fittest.   Seriously, </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>do you do this every single day, love?  My calves are killing me.”  Pansy whined, and Hermione smirked and rolled her eyes, glancing back at Pansy once more.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop being a baby, you’ll be fine.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy glared at her back and huffed.  That was not a kind way to treat her girlfriend, at least in Pansy’s personal opinion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, such a kind and loving soul you are, ‘Mione.”  She said in a monotone voice, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head as they finally reached the top floor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know.”  Hermione said, and she stepped aside so Pansy could get onto the solid ground.  She bent down for a moment, her hands on her knees and took a few deep breaths before glancing up at Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did I agree to walk you up here?”  Pansy asked breathlessly, and Hermione reached over and rubbed her back lightly as she caught her breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, you wanted to be nice?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed and sat up, brushing her hair out of her face.  She flashed Hermione a quick smile as she held out her hand for the other witch to take.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I wanted a kiss goodnight.”  She said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow at her and chuckled as they began walking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>the only reason?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shook her head.  It wasn’t the only reason, it was just an extremely good perk of walking her up here.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, not the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>reason.”  She sighed, and Hermione looked at her expectantly.  Oh, she’s gonna wanna know the reason… Not that there isn’t a reason, Pansy just doesn't exactly feel like exposing how much she really cares.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  Hermione prompted, and Pansy rolled her eyes and looked away from her.  If she had to say it, she wasn’t going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>at her while she said it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I also love you and wanted to make sure you got up to your dorm safely.”  Pansy mumbled, and she could just </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>that Hermione was smiling at her, and Pansy willed her cheeks to not get hot, but it didn’t work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww, Pans-.”  Pansy gave her a quick look and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t make it weird!”  She insisted, and Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not weird to care about your girlfriend, Pansy.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy shook her head and put her hands on her hips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm…. I don’t know if I quite agree with you on that.”  Pansy frowned and Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned in, kissing her softly, a little deeper then she normally did in the halls, but Pansy </span>
  <span>wasn’t that worried, no one else was around right now.  Hermione leaned away and patted her cheek lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.  Goodnight, I love you.”  Hermione mumbled, and Pansy smiled a little and left a quick kiss on Hermione’s forehead.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight.  Oh.  And I love you too.”  She said, and squeezed Hermione’s hand one more time before the other girl went into the Gryffindor commons, and Pansy started towards the stairs, but was paused by the sound of voices.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-And I didn’t break up with you because I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lesbian</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I still like guys as well.”  She heard someone hiss down the hall, and Pansy tensed for a moment and glanced around the corner to see Ginny Weasley standing with her back turned to Pansy, arguing with a boy.  Pansy cautiously began to approach the pair, unsure of the vibe she was going to be dealing with.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why break up with me?” The boy asked, and Ginny shrugged and crossed her arms.  Pansy could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>the annoyance rolling off of her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I realized I was in love with someone else and I didn’t exactly feel like staying in a relationship where the feelings were fading!”  Ginny snapped, and Pansy made sure to stay far enough away that neither party could see her yet.  She was fairly certain that the guy was Dean but she had a little bit of worry that she was wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but… Looney Lovegood?  You can do better, Gin.”  Dean said softly, and Pansy felt some anger start to bubble inside of her, but she willed it to stay down.  She had to see how Ginny reacted before she could let herself get super pissed about this.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t <em>want </em>better, I want her.”  Ginny snapped, and Pansy let out a long breath.  Okay, so she was getting <em>very </em>irritated, and as a prefect Pansy should step in, <em>obviously </em>for the good of the school.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!  Dean Thomas, right?”  Pansy asked, trying to sound bright and calm, and Dean looked at her with a confused expression, which was fair.  Of course she knew who he was, they’d been in the same year the whole time, and they’d already had one altercation.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”  He said, and Pansy took a deep breath and a large step forward, standing in between Dean and Ginny, who stepped around her and stood beside her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I know you and I have our… differences, that's not why I’m here.  I’m here because you called a dear friend of mine a name that I don’t particularly appreciate.”  Pansy said, her voice thankfully coming out smooth and not sharp and angry.  Dean let out a small chuckle and shook his head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Now your friends with <em>Looney</em> Lovegood?”  He asked, and Pansy clenched her jaw.  Sure, this would be a little bit surprising maybe last year, but she liked to think that she’d changed quite a bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's <em>Luna</em>, I know I used to call her Looney too, but it's not right.  And yeah, we’re at least friendly, after all, I’m friends with Ginny.”  Pansy said, and for whatever reason this surprised Dean.  It shouldn’t, honestly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  He asked and Pansy rolled her eyes and let a fake smile spread across her face as she leaned a little closer.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t act so surprised, Dean.  She and I are actually shockingly similar.  Both sarcastic, both <em>devastatingly </em>beautiful-.”  Pansy started, and Ginny cleared her throat and gave her a pointed look.  Right.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get to the point, Pans.”  Ginny reminded her and she nodded and stood up straighter, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  I don’t take too kindly to you insulting my friend’s girlfriend.”  Pansy said, and Dean looked a little stricken as he tried to defend himself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t-.”  Dean started to protest, but Pansy held up a hand to silence him and took a deep breath.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dean, you can admit what happened, I heard it. I’m not here to dock house points or anything, I’m not on any prefect duty, I just want you to apologize to Ginny for insulting the woman she loves.”  Pansy said, trying to remain neutral and patient, even if she was considering just hexing him.  A small hex, nothing damaging, just enough to teach him a lesson.  But before she could entertain that thought further, Dean nodded and cleared his throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.  I’m sorry, Gin.”  Dean mumbled, and Pansy glanced at Ginny and noted how tense her posture was.  Jaw clenched, arms crossed, refusing to look over at Dean.  Oh she was <em>pissed</em>.  Or at least extremely annoyed, and Pansy didn’t blame her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  Ginny mumbled, and Dean paused for a moment and reached out to touch her shoulder, but thought better of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll uh, talk to you later?”  He asked and Ginny gave him a look and shook her head, running a hand through her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t count on it for a bit.”  Ginny snapped, and Dean opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it after a moment.  That was probably wise.  He stepped around Pansy and walked off towards the Gryffindor commons.  Pansy turned to Ginny and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, still feeling that she was <em>seething</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You good?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny glared at her and shook the hand off her shoulder and huffed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t need any help.”  She growled, and Pansy put up her hands in defense.  She never said Ginny <em>needed </em>some help.  But it was good to have some, especially when it came to matters of the heart.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know that.  I figured it still never hurts to have it.  A good backup, just in case.”  Pansy explained, and Ginny rolled her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”  Ginny trailed off, before storming off down the hall.  Pansy was quick to catch up to her, because it didn’t seem like a good idea to leave her to her own devices.  She felt like it might be a repeat of second year... at least something equally as dramatic.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny.  <em>Ginny</em>.”  Pansy tried as she started walking after her.  Ginny swung around, still looking like she was going to <em>kill</em> someone.  Oh, great, this is exactly how Pansy planned on spending her night.  Awesome.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!”  Ginny snapped, and Pansy winced away, but kept her stance tall.  She had to know what kind of headspace Ginny was in.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny shrugged, trying to walk past her, her jaw still set in anger.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go fly… or break something or-.”  Pansy caught her arm and shook her head, giving her a pointed look.  She wasn’t going to let her friend go get herself detention just because she was pissed off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hun, it's damn near curfew.  Why don’t you just sit down.  We can talk.”  Pansy insisted, and Ginny huffed and tried to go again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She started and Pansy put a hand on each of the redhead’s shoulders, prompting her to look into her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  You didn’t let me punch the wall <em>again</em> after I got outed, the least I can do is calm you down.” Pansy reminded her, and Ginny looked confused, but she sighed and nodded, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t think those two things are correlated, but okay.”  Ginny mumbled, and the two girls sank to the ground.  They were silent for a moment before Pansy figured out one thing she could say to break the silence.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know I was jealous of yours and Luna’s relationship when you told Hermione and me, right?”  Pansy asked with a soft chuckle, and Ginny raised her eyebrow and looked over at the other witch.  Pansy didn’t know why this was shocking, at that time she would’ve given anything to have the courage to ask Hermione out.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Why?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy shrugged.  Because she thought she wasn’t good enough to ever be in love, was what she was going to say, but she decided that sounded a little bit too much like she was getting down on herself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never thought I’d have that.  I couldn’t reconcile in my brain that a pretty girl would ever like me.”  Pansy said, and Ginny chuckled and looked forward again as she spoke, flicking a piece of dirt down the hall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude, the second you were gone Hermione broke down and told me about how much she liked you.”  Ginny laughed, and Pansy sighed and nodded.  She knew <em>after </em>she left how much she’d fucked up by leaving.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… so I’ve been told.  But this is about you.”  Pansy reminded her, and Ginny shrugged and glanced over at her, the energy seeming to dissipate a tiny bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about me?”  Ginny mumbled, and Pansy sighed and wrapped an arm around Ginny’s shoulders, lightly squeezing.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got a <em>great </em>fucking thing going with Luna… don’t let some boy-.”  Ginny cut her off and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s not just ‘some boy’.  He’s my ex.”  She reminded Pansy, and she nodded and sighed.  She knew that, but she didn’t want to give him any extra power right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well yes, I did get that.  But <em>still</em>.  Don’t let some person who isn’t even a part of your relationship try and tell you what it's like.  Have you ever felt like this before?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny smiled softly and shook her head before speaking.  Pansy completely understood that expression.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  <em>Merlin</em> no.  Luna, she’s… she’s literally like, everything.  It’s so hard to explain because she can say everything and nothing with a little smile and it makes my heart feel like it's been lit on fire.  And when she kisses me?  I can’t even fathom that someone so ethereal would ever want me.  And then there are these people, trying to undermine it.”  Ginny snapped, the loving, kind reminiscing suddenly shifting to anger at the world.  Pansy blinked and nodded, just wanting Ginny to talk this out.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because people are assholes.”  She offered, and Ginny nodded and rested her head against the wall with her eyes closed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!  Ugh, Merlin.  Is it any easier?  Being a Lesbian?”  Ginny asked, looking at Pansy out of her one open eye.  Pansy thought for a moment and shrugged.  It wasn’t any <em>easier, </em>but it was different, at least for her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, considering I had no proposals of love <em>before </em>getting outed, not much changed, I’m not really a lot of guy’s types.  But I still do get a lot of shit, and I have to watch guys try and flirt with Hermione.”  Pansy explained, and Ginny snorted and shook her head.  Pansy didn’t exactly find it <em>funny</em>, but she was glad that someone else did.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That must be a sight to see.”  Ginny sighed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  As far she knew, all she did was politely turn them down, nothing really interesting.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” She asked, and Ginny raised an eyebrow at her, like that question was stupid or something… it wasn’t.<br/>“She’s so fucking head over heels for you I’d like to see another person <em>try</em> and get between you two now.  Like… pretty sure Krum could come back and ask her to get back together and she’d look at him like he was speaking an alien language.  And considering its <em>Krum</em>…  that would be pretty insane.  And she wasn’t really like this with Ron.”  Ginny explained, and this did surprise Pansy, because she had thought that Ron and Hermione’s relationship was pretty good overall, it didn’t seem like it’d been <em>too</em> bad, Pansy had just personally disliked Ron for a while.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Pansy asked.  To the outside world they’d seemed like a sickeningly happy couple, honestly if Pansy had known them well last year, she probably would’ve thought they were the most hopelessly in love people in the world.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get me wrong, she was very happy.  Ron and her… they were like those two best friends that just decided to try and be a bit more… but I do think it was a tiny bit one sided, I think Ron loved her more in a romantically inclined way then she did him, but they had a few good months.  And then there's <em>you</em>.”  Ginny said, and Pansy didn’t know if she loved all the emphasis on that word.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about me?”  Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow, and Ginny chuckled and shook her head, giving Pansy an odd look.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Parkinson.  I don’t know how it took you so long to pick up on it, I was able to pick up on it the second that she fell into your arms when Ron was <em>right there</em>.  I wasn’t going to say anything because she wasn’t out, she didn’t even know but… yeah.  It was clear to everyone who wasn’t you guys.”  Ginny pointed out, and Pansy felt her face flush.  She hadn’t realized how obvious the two of them had been, and she wanted the subject to change <em>immediately.</em><br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Well.  Back on topic.”  Pansy prompted, and Ginny sighed and nodded, clearing her throat a bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  And Luna, it's like she just floats above it all.  She ignores the comments, she doesn’t pay attention to how fucking <em>rude </em>people are and it drives me crazy.  And I don’t know how I’m the first person to date her because she’s so <em>pretty</em>.”  Ginny said, her voice getting increasingly more annoyed.  Or her tone was just getting sharper because she was making a point, Pansy couldn’t quite tell.  She glanced over and raised an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She has a very distinct look, I’ll give her that.”  She mumbled, and Ginny nodded and kept tracing the pattern on the stone floor.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, yes.  And!  I’ll get all mad because someone will insult her and she’ll grab my hand and I just… melt.  So I think, when Dean tried to imply that Luna wasn’t good enough it pissed me off, but like… in a way that silenced me.  It was harsh, coming from someone I used to be with.”  Ginny explained and Pansy nodded.  Now that she could understand, if anyone did that about Hermione she would probably get in another fight… which would not do much in her favor right now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get that.  Like, in theory, I don’t have a random ex around to insult Hermione.”  Pansy explained, and Ginny flashed her a quick smile and chuckled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Even if you did, I’d like to see them try.” Ginny said, and Pansy grinned over at her.  It was nice to talk with someone who had that similar bit of… fight in them.  Hermione <em>could </em>get like that, but Ginny was just a bit more scrappy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’d hex the living <em>shit </em>out of them.”  Pansy insisted, and Ginny nodded and sighed, glancing over at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you would, Parkinson.  I know.”  Ginny sighed, and they sat in silence for a long moment before Pansy cleared her throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… are you a bit calmed down.”  Pansy asked, and Ginny thought for a moment before she responded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I guess.”  Ginny mumbled, and Pansy slowly stood up, stretching her back a little bit as she did.  She’d forgotten how sitting on the floor can sometimes just make her bones <em>ache</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, good.  Because I should be getting back anyways.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny stood up and stretched.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, yeah.  Have a good night, Parkinson.”  Ginny said, and she walked off towards the Gryffindor commons, leaving Pansy alone in the hall with the quick reminder in her brain that <em>yes </em>she was a prefect, but no she didn’t have rounds tonight and she didn’t exactly feel like getting in trouble for being out after curfew, so she started her descent to the dungeon.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0037"><h2>37. Chapter 37</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Though she would never say, Pansy actually loved days like this, when she, Daphne, and Tracey would relax on one of their beds and smoke or do homework.  Today, they’d chosen Daphne’s bed, and Pansy had decided to forgo smoking, as she didn’t know how well studying potions high would go.  Daphne was doing her nails, something Pansy hoped that the sober side of her would like or else she’d get an earful about how ‘friends don’t let friends alter their appearance when high’.  Tracey was reading the Prophet, something Pansy had </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>seen her do, but she supposed there wasn’t much to talk about these days, what with Pansy dating the person they used to talk shit about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going anywhere over the Easter holidays?”  Daphne suddenly asked, and Pansy took a deep breath.  What the hell kind of question was that?  She had no parents to take her anywhere, and it certainly wasn’t like she had anyone to go with.  Going with Hermione had been veto’d because, while the Gryffindor had offered, it would involve meeting her parents, a step that Pansy wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>ready for.  The conversation of ‘yeah mom, dad, this is my girlfriend from school, we met because she used to make my life a living hell’ didn’t exactly sound appealing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where, pray-tell, would I be going, Daphne?”  Pansy sighed, looking at the blonde over her potions textbook.  Daphne, on the other hand, didn’t look up from painting her nails, she simply shrugged, which Pansy found to be a little irritating.  She had enough time to ask a question that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>the answer to, but not enough to look up from her nails?  Seemed rude.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, it was just a question… no need for that kind of aggression, Parkinson.”  Daphne sighed, and blowed on the her nails.  Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, closing her textbook and laying down so her head was in Daphne’s lap.  She glared down at her, but Pansy didn’t move.  She was quite comfortable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, it was a stupid question.  Of course I’m staying here over Easter Holidays, I did that even </span>
  <em>
    <span>when </span>
  </em>
  <span>I had parents who remembered me.”  Pansy reminded her, and Daphne sighed and gingerly rested her hands on Pansy’s cheeks, careful not to smudge her lipstick as she worked at the knots in Pansy’s jaw.  That was part of the reason she did this, Daphne wasn’t one for casual touches unless they were initiated, but she was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>genius </span>
  </em>
  <span>masseuse, and Pansy’s jaw had been killing her for </span>
  <em>
    <span>weeks</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed, and Pansy’s eyes fluttered shut as she thought of a way to keep the conversation going.  It was clear that Daphne wanted to talk about where she was going over break, not to gloat necessarily, just because she lacked subtly and understanding, at least in Pansy’s opinion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going anywhere?  Assuming that was why you were asking.”  Pansy mumbled, as best she could with her jaw being attacked.  Daphne sighed and pressed a little harder, prompting Pansy to open her eyes and look up.  There was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>nicer way to do that, but Pansy supposed it wouldn’t be in either of their natures.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>why I was asking.”  Daphne said defensively, and Tracey let out a chuckle and lowered her newspaper to look Daphne more head on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?  Could’ve fooled me.”  She sighed, and lifted the paper back up.  That was a way to enter a conversation, Pansy supposed.  Daphne sighed and rolled her eyes, running her fingers through Pansy’s hair, nails finally dry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay it </span>
  <em>
    <span>partially </span>
  </em>
  <span>was.  My parents are taking me to muggle New York.”  Daphne went on, and Tracey let out a grunt of acknowledgment, not even bothering to lower her paper this time.  Pansy guessed they were supposed to squeal or clap or be excited for their friend, but that just wasn’t their vibe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Nice.”  Tracey mumbled, and Daphne let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head.  It did have to be hard, having the friends she had, Pansy thought.  One who had no relationship with her family, and one who had very little.  Daphne was, for the most part, pretty involved in her family, she looked after Astoria, and her parents seemed to love her, from the few times Pansy had met them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I always forget that </span>
  <em>
    <span>neither </span>
  </em>
  <span>of your parents bring you home for holidays.  It’s depressing.”  Daphne sighed, and Tracey snorted and gave her a pointed look from just over her paper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes, I’m sure its </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>depressing to watch from the outside.  Probably even more then experiencing it.”  Tracey said dryly, moving her legs so they were resting across Pansy’s lap as she flipped another page in the Daily Prophet.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head as she patted Pansy’s cheek, prompting her to sit up.  She did, but only slightly so she could lay her head back down on the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn.  Okay.  So </span>
  <em>
    <span>thats </span>
  </em>
  <span>the mood that you’re in.”  Daphne said, and the other girl nodded.  Pansy quite liked watching their interactions, it was like watching a dog and a cat interact, after they’d become acclimated to one another, of course.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.” Tracey mumbled, after that, the three of them were silent for a good while, Pansy got back into her reading, and just when she was about to turn to the last page she needed to review, Daphne sighed and cleared her throat.  Merlin, couldn’t she just sit in silence for five more </span>
  <em>
    <span>bloody </span>
  </em>
  <span>minutes?!</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go.”  Daphne asked, and Pansy sighed and shut her textbook.  She could finish that later, if Daphne was in this kind of mood she wasn’t going to stop talking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve always liked the thought of visiting Paris, its supposed to be rather beautiful.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne nodded, a small smile spreading on her face.  Pansy had forgotten that Daphne had actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone </span>
  </em>
  <span>to Paris last summer with her family</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is gorgeous, especially in the summer.  Tracey?”  Daphne asked, turning her head to the girl against the wall.  Tracey folded up her paper and sighed, leaning her head back a bit as she thought about her answer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Anywhere in the whole world?”  She asked and Daphne nodded, raising her eyebrow at the girl.  Okay, that was fair, Tracey </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>asked a sort of dumb question, at least in Pansy’s opinion.  Anywhere in the world obviously meant anywhere in the goddamn world.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”  Daphne said, and Tracey considered her options for a few more minutes before speaking.  Pansy didn’t fault her for thinking it through so much, not everyone had the level of escapism that she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’d like to visit Iceland.  I hear the muggles have these hot springs that are supposed to be just fantastic.” Tracey said, sounding a little bit wistful.  Daphne nodded and smiled, implying that that a very valid place.  Pansy, on the other hand, was trying to figure out who had talked about that recently.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’ve read about those.  They sound so cool.” Daphne said and that was when it clicked, and honestly Pansy didn’t know how she didn’t remember immediately, she had about three people in her life who just <em>knew </em>things, and she was only around one of them all the time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t they?  I just feel like it’d be so relaxing.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy sat up a bit, leaning on the headboard beside Daphne.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione told me something about Iceland.”  Pansy said, and Daphne let out a chuckle and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course she did, but go on.”  She sighed, and Pansy nodded, and took a moment.  She had to remember exactly what her girlfriend had said, but it kept getting muddled with different potion recipes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She told me its all created from some volcano thing, and that it actually ends up growing.  And that it’s built on a fault?  Which sounds dangerous to me.”  Pansy said, and she knew she’d missed a few things but that didn’t mean that both of the other witches didn’t look interested, which had been Pansy’s goal.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds… like a very terrible place to start living.”  Daphne said, and Pansy nodded.  She had thought the same.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right?  But I suppose its pretty, so I can understand why it happened.”  Pansy said, closing her eyes for a moment to just take a breath.  The second she did so, she heard Tracey let out a sound of disapproval, and she did consider kicking the other girl, but she figured she should hear out why she was pissy about what was said.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just because somewhere is pretty doesn’t mean that someone should <em>live </em>there, Merlin, Pans.”  Tracey said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Never did she say that that was what she specifically would do, she just knew some humans did things solely off of the aesthetic value of said thing, such as choosing a place to live.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude.  I never said <em>I </em>would live there, I meant humanity as a whole.  You know?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne sighed, reaching over to trace patterns on Pansy’s arm.  Normally, she would stop her, tell her to knock it off, but Pansy allowed it right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  I guess so.”  Daphne chuckled, and Pansy saw Tracey roll her eyes out of the corner of her vision.  What did she have to be annoyed by right now?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you’re far too sober to be being this insufferable.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy smacked her arm.  She was perfectly capable of being insufferable <em>and </em>stone cold sober, thank you very much.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That can be fixed.”  Daphne said, waggling her eyebrows, and it took Pansy a moment but she realized what the other girl was saying, and she shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>No</em>.  I have to study.”  Pansy said firmly, even though she did want to be done, she was slowly losing her drive.  And taking a break sounded <em>really </em>good right now.  But no, no she had to be strong.  Daphne raised an eyebrow and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you studying with Hermione later?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy furrowed her brows in confusion.  She didn’t see what kind of bearing that had on this conversation, but she wasn’t wrong.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but-.”  She was cut off by Tracey sighing and leaning forward a little bit off of the wall.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then take the hit.”  Tracey said, holding out the joint to Pansy.  She rolled her eyes and sighed, nodding.  She supposed that she did get a lot of studying done, Hermione would probably support her taking a break.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin.  </em>Fine.”  Pansy sighed, and took the joint from Tracey’s hand and took a long pull.  Once she exhaled and laid back down, she heard a small chuckle come from Tracey and she looked over, feeling some apprehension.  What had she done?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There.  Already so much better.”  Daphne smirked.  Oh, she just wants to be a bitch, thats all. Pansy glared over at her before smacking her arm lightly.  She didn’t have to be such a damn <em>wanker </em>about it, damn.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy quite liked nights like this, when she and Hermione met in the Room of Requirement instead of the library and just talked.  Or, didn’t talked, just existed in the same space for a while.  It put Pansy at ease, the way that Hermione would run her fingers through her hair while talking about whatever was on her mind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… I’ve got a question.” Hermione mumbled, still running her fingers through Pansy’s hair.  The Slytherin opened her eyes and looked up, a little surprised to see the concern in Hermione’s face, she didn’t know when that emotion had switched.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  What’s up, love?” Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and looked away from her, clearly apprehensive about what she was going to say.  It made Pansy a little nervous because she rarely saw Hermione like this, unless it was serious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why… didn’t you want to go home for the Easter holidays with me? Not pushing you to, just wondering why.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy covered her face and groaned.  She knew this was going to come up eventually, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to avoid it forever.  But she did assume she had a bit more time to think up a good excuse.  And now here she was with no good reason why she couldn’t go with Hermione, except her own irrational fears.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to laugh at me, ‘Mione.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione pulled the other girl’s hands away from her face and looked her in the eyes, scooting a little bit closer.  Merlin, did she have to look so calm and accepting?  It </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>made holding secrets in </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>harder on Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, no I won’t.”  Hermione promised, and Pansy looked away from her and sighed, shaking her head.  This felt like some kind of a trap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m scared to meet your parents.  Like… I’m terrified, I was going to say petrified, but one of us has actually been petrified so-.”  Hermione put a gentle hand on her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her cheek in order to stop the words from flowing from her mouth.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop, stop, stop.  One, that was a horrible joke, and two… My parents are dentists!  They’re the <em>least </em>scary people you could meet!”  Hermione laughed, and Pansy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.  She wasn’t scared of <em>them</em>, she was scared of the act of meeting them because she wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out and she wanted to make a good impression, she didn’t know what was unclear about that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I understand they’re teeth people, that’s not my fear.  And here I thought you promised you wouldn’t laugh.”  Pansy said, glaring over at Hermione.  The other witch raised her eyebrow and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I promised nothing, I just said I wouldn’t.  And they know about you already, you understand that, right?” Hermione asked, and Pansy’s eyebrows shot up.  No, she actually had <em>not </em>known that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Why?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I wrote home about you.  I wrote about this pretty girl with a sharp tongue who I knew I should hate, but for whatever reason, I’d fallen for.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy felt like her heart had stopped in her chest.  Hermione had written home about her.  Pansy’d never gotten the chance to even if she had wanted to but still.  <em>Hermione Jean Granger had written home about her</em>.  It was a mind boggling thought.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin</em>.  Were you out before you sent that letter?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shook her head.  Well, that was certainly a brave way to come out, Pansy supposed the girl wasn’t in Gryffindor for nothing.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No that was sort of my… coming out.  I think maybe they had their inclinations, but if they did they had enough courtesy not to say.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  The only experience she’d personally had with coming out had not gone too well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d they take it?”  Pansy asked nervously, and Hermione shrugged, fiddling with her fingers while she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Far better then your parents.”  She said and Pansy had to let out a small chuckle at that.  She was pretty sure that anyone would take it better then her parents… except maybe Draco’s.  Merlin she feared the day that they finally found out.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a difficult thing to beat, mine disowned me and tried to erase my memory of you.”  Pansy said, trying to put a lighthearted spin on it, but she saw the pain behind Hermione’s eyes when she mentioned it, and she was quick to shut her mouth.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mine asked if it was a phase, and when I assured them it wasn’t they were pretty okay with it.  My mother expressed some sadness about never getting grandkids, I informed her that just because I was in love with a woman now, it doesn’t mean that sometime down the line, if we fall out of love, that I couldn’t marry a man.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy nodded.  That made perfect sense.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s understandable.  For you, I mean.  <em>I </em>could never marry a man, went down that route and I didn’t exactly love it.”  Pansy joked, and Hermione rolled her eyes and nudged her shoulder gently.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well obviously, marrying someone you never loved isn’t something that sounds appealing.  But I also… Well I actually don’t know if-.”  Pansy held up a hand to cut her off and shook her head with a grimace.  She had realized in that moment that she’d never been <em>clear</em>, and realized equally that Ginny had just been able to guess.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t like men.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione nodded quickly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it.  I wasn’t sure, you know?  I obviously know you fancy women, but we’ve never really talked about-.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slow down, ‘Mione.  It’s okay that you didn’t know, I didn’t really say it.  And to be clear, I currently fancy <em>one </em>woman.”  Pansy said, and she hated how quickly Hermione’s worried face turned into a smirk of satisfaction.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning a little closer.  Pansy groaned and covered her face with her hands, fondly remembering the days when she didn’t have to be so <em>vulnerable </em>all the damn time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin</em>, don’t look so smug about it.”  Pansy groaned, and Hermione pulled Pansy’s hands down off of her face again, only this time she held the other girl’s wrists so that she wouldn’t do it again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think its a fair thing to be smug about.  I have a pretty girl all to myself.”  Hermione explained, and she said it with such certainty and authority that there was simply no way to argue with </span>
  <span>her, and Pansy knew it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.”  Pansy muttered, trying not to pay attention to how hot her cheeks were.  Hermione seemed satisfied with this and leaned her head against Pansy’s chest, wrapping one arm loosely around her waist.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?”  Hermione muttered after a moment, and Pansy dropped a quick kiss onto her hairline before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm?”  Pansy mumbled, tracing small patterns onto Hermione’s shoulder.  She had recently began to notice how much she did that, just craved the slightest touch, and it was getting a little bit terrifying.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they’d never gotten their memory erased… would you bring me home to meet your parents?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy froze.  That was a question she had never expected being asked, and she felt like she was going to be seen as an asshole either way.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s such a loaded question.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione gave her a look of confusion.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How so?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed.  How wouldn’t it be a loaded question?  On one hand, why would she want to subject her girlfriend to her abusive family, but on the other hand, she didn’t want Hermione feeling like she was ashamed of their relationship because she <em>wasn’t.</em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, I want you to be a part of my life and I’m not ashamed to be with you, that’s pretty obvious.  But also… with what my parents believe I’m scared you would get hurt.  But if it were an alternate world where they couldn’t touch you or harm you in any way, I would bring you around the Parkinson manor all the time.  I’d bring you to parties, galas, weddings… the whole ordeal.”  Pansy said, shocking herself a little bit with how much she meant it.  That’s how she should’ve realized that there was never a time she was in love with Draco.  She’d never felt the urge to bring him around, never felt the urge to be around him all the time.  Hermione on the other hand… it was like she demanded it without even speaking.  Pansy looked over at the other girl, expecting to see a look of discomfort, that was a lot to dump on a person, but she was instead met with a confused sort of awe.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Hermione asked quietly, and Pansy chuckled, trying to seem like she hadn’t been nervous about a possible rejection a few seconds ago.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you so shocked, love?”  She asked, and Hermione sighed and shrugged, leaning her head against the other girl’s shoulder again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just… I guess a part of me gets worried that once the school year ends…”  Hermione trailed off, but Pansy knew exactly what she was on about.  It was a fear she’d had a million times throughout their short relationship.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That <em>we’ll</em> end?”  Pansy offered, and Hermione offered a sad smile and nodded<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that odd?”  She asked and Pansy shook her head.  It didn’t seem odd to her, in fact it seemed more normal then expecting them to last forever.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, its a very valid fear, I get it.  But I’m not just dating you out of the convenience of us being in the same school.  Merlin, there are <em>loads </em>of people that would be more convenient, if I just wanted a fling.  Hell, I’m pretty sure even Daphne would work for that.  But heres the difference… I <em>love</em> you, and if I can help it, I want this relationship to last.”  Pansy said quietly, and she loved the way that a relieved, calm smile spread across Hermione’s face.  She was grateful to know she’d put her at ease.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a relief.”  Hermione breathed, and Pansy still had one last gnawing thought left in her mind.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you think I wasn’t serious about you?”  She asked, and she was dreading the answer from the moment that Hermione shrugged.  That couldn’t be good.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well-.”  Hermione started, and Pansy cut her off by placing a gentle hand on the other girl’s cheek, prompting her to look into her eyes.  She needed eye contact to have this really sink in.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione.  I had to go through a whole mental upheaval to allow myself to fall for you.  I managed to get through my mental blocks of saying that I love you.  This is by far the most serious relationship I’ve ever been in… and I know that that doesn’t say <em>much</em>, but its true.  I’ve never met someone like you.”  Pansy stated, and Hermione got that goddamn <em>smug </em>look again and Pansy almost considered taking it all back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy almost didn’t want to respond, she could tell that Hermione was enjoying this far too much.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You used to <em>infuriate </em>me with the way you just <em>knew, </em>the way you spoke so firmly, I used to think it was unnatural that you knew so much about the wizarding world when you weren’t born here.  Now that I know you better, I realized that that is one of the most interesting things about you, your mind.  It’s like… damn, ‘Mione.  I don’t know how you think <em>so damn much</em> all the time and stay sane.  I’d drive myself mad.  I’ve never met anyone who can just <em>go </em>all the time.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… aren’t you being sweet today?”  Hermione asked with a smirk and Pansy rolled her eyes and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?  I would <em>never</em>.”  Pansy insisted, not able to fight the smile spreading across her lips.  Hermione leaned over and stopped, just short of her lips.  Pansy hated when she did that, she was never able to focus on what was said next.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy didn’t have any time to do anything but exactly that before Hermione’s lips were on hers, and she slowly felt any retort she may have had waiting on her tongue melt away.<br/></span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0038"><h2>38. Chapter 38</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pansy had forgotten how </span>
  <em>
    <span>tall </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ron was, even in comparison to her, until she was trying to chase him down in the hallway.  Honestly, he seemed to just cut his way through the crowd, like he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right there</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and then suddenly gone.  Very infuriating when Pansy had pertinent information that she had forgotten to share with him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weasley.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Weasley. </span>
  </em>
  <span>RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!”  Pansy shouted, and from the way he reacted so strongly to his middle name -a jump, his shoulders pulled to his elbows, turning around with bugged out eyes-  Pansy realized why maybe she shouldn’t say it when he hadn’t even been the one to disclose it.  He waded back over to her and pulled her from the sea of students into a crook of the hallway.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Parkinson!  I oughta give 'Mione a piece of my fucking mind for giving you my middle name.”  He hissed, and Pansy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.  She hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>meant </span>
  </em>
  <span>to cause him any emotional distress, he didn’t need to treat it like she’d been making fun of him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right, I’m shaking in my boots, whatever.  Anyway.  I have some information I think you’d be interested to know.”  Pansy said, keeping her tone blase as she examined her nails.  It was a tactic she used often to keep Daphne and Tracey interested in the conversation at hand, and it seemed to work fine on the redhead.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?  And what’s that?”  Ron sighed, and Pansy thought of how to phrase this.  She figured using Dean's name would be shit idea, it could be putting a target on the guy’s back and he hadn’t quite earned that if it was just the one encounter...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, there is a certain gentleman in your house who is giving Ginny a bit of a hard time for dating Luna-.”  Pansy was cut off by Ron rearing off the wall and clenching his fists, his demeanor completely shifted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who is it?  I’ll snap his fuckin-.”  Pansy cleared her throat and cut him off, shaking her head. That wasn’t going to help anything, and it might get Ginny right pissed at her for sharing, but she also felt like she should let other members of Gryffindor know so they could step in if they saw anything.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoa there, big man.  I handled it in the moment, not that she needed the help.  I’m just asking you to keep a lookout and make sure it doesn’t happen again.  I don’t love seeing my friends hurt and I assume you like seeing your little sister hurt even less.”  Pansy said cautiously, and Ron pushed up his sleeves and nodded, glaring right past Pansy, almost right through her.  She had not anticipated this volatile of a response, she’d forgotten that some families actually care for each other.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re assuming right.”  Ron said, his teeth still clenched.  Pansy reached out and put a tentative hand on his arm, trying to center him back in the conversation.  This only served to confuse him </span>
  <em>
    <span>more, </span>
  </em>
  <span>because other then shoving him there hadn’t really been a time that she’d touched him, she could acknowledge that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So keep an eye out and an ear to the ground, yeah?”  Pansy instructed, and Ron nodded, still looking a bit angry, but Pansy was a little more confident he wasn’t going to try and smash in anyone’s legs.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  He sighed, and Pansy tried to think up a topic to distract him, so this wasn’t the only thing on his mind when he sat down to dinner.  Maybe she could even distract him enough that he wouldn’t tell Hermione yet.  She didn’t exactly want to be on the end of her girlfriends wrath for this one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and Hermione mentioned a couple of weeks ago that you asked out Lavender Brown?  Anything ever come of that or…”  Pansy trailed off, and Ron seemed a little lost for a moment.  Shit.  Had she remembered the wrong girl?  A moment later her fears were vanished by his look of understanding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  Oh, no.  No, we decided to just stay friends, there wasn’t that spark, you know?  But she's a really nice girl, I wish the connection had been there."  Ron explained, and Pansy nodded.  She’d definitely been there.  She did about three </span>
  <em>
    <span>years </span>
  </em>
  <span>of that, only she couldn’t just stay friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I understand that.  But you’ll find someone, Weasley.  You’re not… </span>
  <em>
    <span>horrible.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy admitted, and it sounded like she was getting stabbed when she said it, like saying that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>physically </span>
  </em>
  <span>painful for her.  Ron’s smile spread across his face and she wanted to take it back </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>badly, but she also figured that getting along with Hermione’s friends was also a priority she should have.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He said, and his eyes were much softer then they had been five minutes ago, and Pansy’s stomach was churning a lot more than it had been.  She thought that maybe she had a limit to her niceness, maybe she could only be kind to one person at a time, a couple of times a day.  It felt like it was killing her slowly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And it will stay that way if you keep ruining the few nice moments we’ve had.  I’ll see you in class, Weasley!”  Pansy said through gritted teeth, but he didn’t seem to notice the malice creeping back into her voice, instead he clapped a hand on her shoulder before parting ways.  Pansy tried to make her slight nausea go away by the time she got to her table, and it had mostly worked as she slid in next to Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’d you stop to talk to Weasley boy?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy supposed that it was a fair question, but she’d also wanted to talk about anything else.  Something told her that a lot of her study date tonight was going to be discussing what had happened.  But Pansy sighed, and gave in.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, some people are being a little rude to Ginny about her and Luna-.”  She was cut off by Tracey making a sound of confusion from across the table.  A sound Pansy deemed fair, she’d also been confused as to why someone had wanted to get between them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  That’s the best suitor Ginnys pulled so far… I think… Honestly I stopped paying attention.”  She sighed, and Pansy nodded.  Luna was Ginny’s best, at least in Pansy’s opinion, but she supposed she’d only had positive interactions with the Ravenclaw, so that was a bit of a plus in her column.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d be right to assume that Luna’s her best.  From compatibility to, in my opinion, looks, Luna’s got all her ex’s beat easily.”  Pansy said, and she meant it.  Luna was pretty in a… non conventional sort of way, at least to Pansy.  Wasn’t her type, but she didn’t fault Ginny for having Luna as a type.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay so who’s being an ass about it?  Just let the girl live, people have more or less taken that approach with you and Granger.”  Daphne said, and Pansy’s eyebrow shot up because </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah </span>
  </em>
  <span>the comments had lessened but that didn’t mean they’d stopped completely.  She wished they would, it would make her life a whole lot easier.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, it's cute that you think that.”  Pansy chuckled, pointedly avoiding the first part of the sentence.  She wasn’t going to speak his name, there was no need to be cruel, plus if Ginny wanted it out there she could put it out there herself.  But the avoidance, unfortunately, did not go unnoticed by the other two girls at the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Parkinson</em>.  I asked a pretty fucking direct question, mate.  Who is it?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes.  Of course she couldn’t just not answer, her friends were far too nosy for that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take a wild guess.”  She sighed, and Tracey raised an eyebrow at her and cleared her throat to prompt Pansy to look over.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of her ex’s?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy nodded, swiping the apple off of Daphne’s plate and taking a large bite.  She did realize a moment later that Daphne was glaring at her, but if she just kept eating and acted like it didn’t bother her, she’d eventually get bored of it.  Plus its just an <em>apple</em>.  It wasn’t like fourth year when they’d been in a fight and Pansy had burned every scroll she could find of Daphne’s, and they got over that just fine.  For the most part.  Aside from Daphne mentioning it every three months periodically.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, now was that so difficult to get you on your own?”  Pansy asked, flashing a fake smile at both of them.  Daphne rolled her eyes and shoved her lightly before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, you self satisfied git.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy chuckled and raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms across her chest.  She was used to Daphne being rude, but it never hurt to mess with her a bit sometimes.  Call into question their ‘pureblood training’.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you don’t have to be so rude about it.  Honestly, didn’t your mother teach you any manners at all?”  Pansy asked, the faux shock causing Daphne to snort a bit with a suppressed laugh before she shook her head and sighed, putting on the best look of fake yearning that she could muster.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She taught me enough to get by and enough to land a suitor.  Never said anything about talking kindly to my friends, it wasn’t in the course, we were too busy talking about boys.”  She said, her voice so fake wistful that Pansy almost lost it.  But it wouldn’t be as funny if she dropped the character.  Plus the look of slight confusion on Tracey’s face made it far too tempting to continue.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  Merlin <em>forbid </em>your mother take five minutes off teaching you how to land someone.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder as she gripped her chest, looking all the damsel she’d never been for anyone.  Pansy did find it quite ironic that the two of them were technically socialites, they never acted like it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She was sure I’d become a spinster.”  Daphne insisted, and Tracey cleared her throat, the confusion on her face even more than it was before.  Merlin, this was <em>priceless.  </em>Honestly, it was comedic gold that Pansy just wanted to bottle up and sell.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were <em>eight</em>.”  Tracey hissed, and Pansy nodded solemnly, remembering the words that her mother had spoken once.  ‘If you don’t know who you’re going to marry by eight years old, you might as well say goodbye to your chance at a life of comfort and elegance and start looking for cheap shacks somewhere near the city.’  She’d been six at the time, needless to say it had made an impact.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Already an old maid, how sad Daph.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne nodded, throwing a hand across her forehead before speaking.  Merlin, there was no way Tracey could think they were serious at this point, but there was also no harm in continuing, at least not from Pansy’s point of view.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know, we feared there was no hope.”  Daphne whispered, and that was when Tracey seemed to finally reach her breaking point.  She set her fork on the table and rested her head in her hands for a moment before sighing with frustration.  Pansy didn’t know if <em>that </em>was warranted, they’d been providing free entertainment, if you will.  A dinner and a show, people paid good money for that kind of a meal, and here Tracey was, taking it for <em>granted</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, are you two ever serious, because you’re starting to freak me out.”  Tracey groaned, and Pansy broke out of character and shook her head with a large grin.  She could not think of a time they’d been strictly serious in all six years of their schooling together.  It was far too dull.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Pansy said simply, and Daphne charmed in from beside her, slinging her arm around Pansy’s shoulders.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not if we can help it, feels like being serious these days will take <em>decades </em>off your life.  If all the world is to end soon, honestly what's the point?”  Daphne sighed, and Tracey shifted around uncomfortably.  Sometimes Pansy forgot that Tracey wasn’t a pureblood, not that she was at any more of a risk then Pansy was, she was disowned with no one to vouch that she was indeed a pureblood.  Needless to say she didn’t think she’d last too long if Voldemort managed to take over either.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not going to <em>end </em>if he-.”  Tracey started, and Daphne pointed at Pansy and raised her eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her girlfriend and everyone like her will be put to death.  Merlin, probably damn near immediately if he gets his way, that's a little sickening.”  Daphne sighed, and she looked a little down… or </span>
  <span>like she was going to vomit and Pansy wasn’t exactly loving either of those things, or what she had talked about.  This dinner had gone downhill <em>fast</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I <em>really </em>don’t want to think about that, Daph.  I was in a good mood and everything.  Why ruin it?”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne gave her an incredulous look as Pansy drummed her fingers on the table, looking at no one in particular.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on.  You aren’t joining <em>his </em>side are you?”  Daphne asked in a hushed voice and Pansy looked at her with a look of mixed hurt and confusion.  Firstly, ouch.  She really thought that Pansy would join the people who wanted a world without the woman she loved.  Secondly, she wouldn't be able to get in if she tried.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? No!  No, of course not.  I don’t know of anyone who is yet.”  Pansy said, and she thought for a moment and yeah, that did indeed check out.  No one was <em>confirmed</em> as of yet.  Daphne however, didn’t seem as convinced.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got my suspicions about Draco.”  Daphne sighed, examining her nails, and Tracey raised her eyebrow and leaned forward a bit on her elbows.  The thought of Draco joining the death eaters made her stomach lurch a bit, maybe because she thought he’d never do that… or maybe because a part of her knew he <em>really </em>would.  Anything to impress Lucius.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?  I don’t think with everything he’s been through this year-.”  Tracey started, and Daphne held up her hand to silence her before speaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That he’d do anything to get back into Daddy’s good graces?  You can’t deny that he’s been acting a little… off since the whole thing happened.”  Daphne pointed out, and now Pansy was shifting around uncomfortably.  She was right, Draco had hardly talked to her since the incident, he looked like he wasn’t even eating, and he seemed so… determined on something.  Some task no one else seemed to know about.  But she still had a little bit of faith in him, that he wasn’t <em>as </em>bad as his parents.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, maybe he has… but he could also just be scared.  Speaking from experience, being outed is <em>terrifying</em>.” Pansy said, and Daphne nodded, taking a sip from her cup before she spoke again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t doubt that.  But he;s not acting scared.  He’s acting determined.”  She said, and Pansy’s stomach lurched.  <em>Determined</em>.  She’d thought the same thing about him, just a little bit.  But it seemed more real to hear someone else say it too.  She wanted to clear Draco’s name, she <em>really </em>needed him to be innocent.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Listen.  If it’ll put you two’s little conspiracy theory to bed, I’ll confront him about it later tonight, yeah?”  Pansy asked, and she thought about how she was even going to confront the boy when seemed to be avoiding her.  She’d have to catch him off guard, maybe in the halls, and just follow him until he was at a stopping point.  Shouldn’t be too hard, she’d seen Potter do it a few times.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please do.  Tell me all the details.”  Daphne said, shaking Pansy from her thoughts.  She rolled her eyes and gave the other witches a look before tucking some of her hair out of her face.  Of course she was telling them, she needed them to know he was innocent.  Almost as much as she needed to know it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was the plan of me confronting him, Daph.  But if he gets mad at me I’m blaming both of you because <em>this wasn’t my idea</em>.”  Pansy hissed, and Tracey and Daphne looked at each other before shrugging and nodding, like that seemed like a perfectly fair idea.  Yes, the perfect price to pay for having Pansy ruin her first ever friendship.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair, fair.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the gnawing pit in her stomach as she stretched up and stood.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I have to go study, promised ‘Mione I’d meet her in the library.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne gave her a small smirk and raised an eyebrow, leaning forward on one of her hands.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since when are you such a woman of your word.”  She teased, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  She still wasn’t, not with most people.  But something about Hermione had started to make her want to be more true to her word in some ways, and it was very frustrating.  She’d actually started to feel <em>bad </em>when she lied or when she was late, it was a very odd response.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not, not with everyone.  But I am with her.”  Pansy admitted, and Daphne made a face and gagged, waving her hand away at Pansy.  Tracey rolled her eyes and rubbed Daphne’s back, mouthing a quick ‘sorry’ at Pansy.  Good to know that <em>both </em>of them don’t always subscribe to drama.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I could <em>vomit </em>just from hearing that.  Go, get out of my sight.”  Daphne hissed and Pansy did just that.  She realized the time and started to speed up her walk, determined to make it to the library before Hermione for once.  That wouldn’t happen though, because at the last moment she was yanked down a dark hallway, and she yelped once before Hermione was in front of her, and she didn’t exactly look happy.  Shit… had they agreed on early then what Pansy had remembered?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy Parkinson!”  Hermione hissed.  Yup, definitely pissed about something, and Pansy could think of like six different things it could be, but she decided to just play the innocent card.  What’s the worst that could happen, right?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh hey ‘Mione.  I was just heading to meet you in the-.”  Hermione shook her head and raised up a hand to cut her off.  Oh so she is <em>supremely </em>pissed right now.  And Pansy was <em>royally </em>fucked.  What a fun way to spend an evening.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you tell me about the issues that Ginny’s been having with a boy from my house?  That’s <em>my </em>domain, Parkinson.  I could’ve handled it.”  Hermione said, her voice dangerously low.  Shit.  Shit shit shit.  She had not anticipated this level of raw anger, but she did suppose that Hermione was capable of anything.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Merlin</em>, that was a double edged sword either way I suppose.”  Pansy sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose before looking up and seeing the look of slight confusion on Hermione’s face.  Well, she hadn’t diffused the bomb, but at least she wouldn’t be getting hit with a hex <em>right now</em>.  That was a plus.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>What </em>was a double edged sword?”  Hermione asked, her frustration still showing through, and Pansy shifted around on her feet.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if I told you first I ran the risk of Ron storming up to me and demanding to know why you knew something about his own family before he did.  Granted, he is far easier to calm down with this kind of stuff… and this is pretty much what I expected by telling Ron first.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione looked like she was about to punch Pansy in the face.  Pasny knew she might do it, she remembered third year, and Cormac this year… she didn’t exactly want to be on the receiving end of that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, forgive me for being pissed off that you chose to tell someone you don’t even <em>like </em>first.”  Hermione hissed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She did think that in some ways she was right to tell Ron first.  It <em>was </em>his sister after all, and yes Hermione and Ginny were close, she wasn’t denying that, but the sibling aspect seemed more important.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was the blood part of it!  That’s his sister, and therefore he had more of a need to know.  I was going to tell you-.”  Hermione didn’t let her finish before she started speaking again, even harsher then before.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, after the term was over?  Merlin, Pans… sometimes it's like you’re not thinking.”  Hermione hissed, and Pansy really didn’t like the way she’d phrased that.  It made her feel like Hermione thought she was stupid or something, and it was enough to make her straighten a bit, and square her stance.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am thinking, I was <em>thinking </em>I was going to tell you when we got to the library tonight.”  Pansy said, keeping her voice steady.  Hermione let out a laugh that lacked humor and pointed a finger into Pansy’s sternum as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you didn’t think that Ron would mention it over dinner?  The boy can’t keep a secret, it's one of his major flaws!  I knew he liked me from year two on out, even though he tried to hide it!  He’s like an open fucking book!”  Hermione snapped, and Pansy looked away from her, wincing at the harshness of her tone a bit.  It reminded her sort of of how she used to fight with her parents, she’d always be the one who came out feeling like shit.  Maybe that wouldn’t be the case this time, but she didn’t feel like the odds were in her favor.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hadn’t exactly anticipated that.”  Pansy mumbled, feeling like the air was crackling around her a bit.  Things always got a little fuzzy when they fought, but not the comfortable, sweet fuzzy like when they kissed.  But more like an angry static in her ears that was screaming at her to <em>shut up shut up shut up</em>.  Pansy wished there was a spell to get rid of it, she wanted to think clearly right now.  Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s pretty clear.  Normally you think ahead a bit better.”  Hermione spat, and that was enough to make the static louder, and to wipe Pansy’s mind for a moment.  She stood up straighter, clenching her fists at her sides.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was trying to!”  She growled, and Hermione mirrored her stance.  If anyone walked by right now, they’d assume the last few months had been some kind of crazy prank, Pansy could tell they looked the picture of house rivals right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try harder next time!”  Hermione snapped, and that was when the static seemed to snap, and Pansy’s energy drained a bit.  She couldn’t keep that energy as long anymore, and almost not at all at Hermione.  It was tiring, where it used to be exhilarating.  She just wanted this conversation to be over, she wanted to move on.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look.  Fighting over this is pointless, can you be a little more clear about what made you so mad so I don’t make that same mistake in the future?  Please?”  Pansy asked, trying to ignore the tightness in her chest, the way her words cracked a little bit, especially on the word ‘please’, but it was pretty clear that Hermione wasn’t ignoring it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It just sort of hurt that you told Ron before me, okay?  We’re together all the time, you had plenty of options.”  Hermione said, and even though she was speaking gently, her words felt very harsh in the moment to Pansy.  Everything felt a little more amplified, and she was certain her sweater was going to melt off of her from how warm she’d gotten.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, ‘Mione.  It had slipped my mind until today and-.”  Hermione cut her off with a gentle hand to her arm, rubbing it up and down an attempt to soothe the girl.  Pansy hadn't realized how fast she’d been talking, how stressed she must’ve sounded, but she really had come to hate fighting with Hermione.  It felt it was going to end in disaster every time and Pansy <em>hated </em>it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Pansy!  Slow down.  Of course I’m not mad at you for standing up for my friend, I’m bloody glad you did just… next time, in addition to telling Ron, <em>who you barely speak to</em>, can you also tell me?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy did see that as a fair request, but she was still in her active spiral of convincing herself that Hermione hated her now for messing up, it was rather rude to interrupt.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I promise that I won’t keep it from you next time.  I really didn’t mean to-.”  Hermione cut her off with a few gentle kisses to her knuckles.  Pansy really did feel bad, she felt bad that it had slipped her mind for a few days, she felt bad that she hadn’t just told them both at the same time.  She really hoped Golden Boy knew too at this point.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh.  Darling, I know.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy rested her forehead against Hermione’s for a moment, taking a deep breath.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am sorry.”  She murmured, and Hermione nodded, just a bit.  Enough that Pansy knew that the anger was at least, for the moment, gone.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright just… try and remember next time.”  Hermione sighed, cupping Pansy’s cheeks lightly.  Pansy leaned into the touch and nodded, she was pretty sure Hermione could get her to do anything just with one simple touch, it was honestly a bit irritating how much of a hold the Gryffindor had on her.  But she didn’t want it to go away, just because it was something she hadn’t felt before, so she supposed that was a bit of a personal improvement.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0039"><h2>39. Chapter 39</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>How hard is it to find one sickly pale boy who likes like he hasn’t seen the sun in over a decade?  It shouldn’t be as hard as it is.  Pansy could’ve sworn she’d checked every single place in the school twice at this point, and Draco was nowhere to be found.  This did not aid well in her ‘he’s probably innocent’ idea, if anything it gave Daphne and Tracey </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>of a reason to be suspicious.  But it was getting late, and she was starting to give up hope of finding him today, he clearly did not want to be found.  But just as she was about to throw in the towel, the world seemed to give her one more chance.  Blaise Zabini, leaning against a wall, reading through a textbook.  She steeled her nerves and willed herself to be kind, knowing for a fact that Blaise might just be able to pinpoint the location of his roommate.  She walked over and tapped his shoulder, causing him to turn around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blaise Zabini. Just the man I’ve been looking for.”  Pansy sighed, running a hand through her hair.  She was lying, of course, because she would never </span>
  <em>
    <span>willingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>look for Blaise unless Daphne asked her to.  But Blaise seemed to like the idea that Pansy had been searching high and low for him, if his wide self-satisfied grin was anything to go off of.  It made Pansy’s stomach churn a little bit, but she swallowed down the bile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?  And why is that?  Finally tired of your lady lover?”  Blaise asked, arching up an eyebrow rather suggestively.  Pansy shuddered without meaning to at the mere thought of Blaise anywhere within a 12 foot radius of her while naked.  She’d literally rather let a dragon burn her alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s… disgusting, moving on.”  Pansy sighed, and Blaise shrugged, his smile toning down to a rather creepy smirk before he turned forward again and sighed.  Pansy knew she would probably have to endure one more comment before she got to ask her question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, but the offer is open.”  He said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.  This boy just doesn't quit, does he?  Not even when Pansy’s considering </span>
  <em>
    <span>actual </span>
  </em>
  <span>ritualistic murder.  She wondered for a moment if Buckbeak would prefer the flesh of a socialite… before putting that rather dark thought out of her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Close it, it's not going to happen.”  She snapped, and Blaise rolled his eyes, leaning forward on his hand a little glumly.  Pansy really considered hexing him for pouting over not being able to hook up with her, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermione, even if she liked men, he never stood a goddamn chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, fine.  What do you need, Pans?”  Blaise sighed, and Pansy could’ve thought of a million things.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>the ability to beat Blaise senseless for leading Daphne on, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to find Draco, and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>this conversation to end before she could do the first thing she thought of, because one more strike on her record did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>sound like a fun idea to her.  She was just starting to regain some trust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seen Draco around?” Pansy asked, and Blaise thought for a long moment before shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not since Defense… why?”  He asked, and Pansy paused.  She couldn’t exactly tell him that she was looking for Draco to question him on his sort of sketchy behavior.  She had to think on her feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just… loaned him my notes for Astronomy and I want them back.  I </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> need to study, you know?”  Pansy asked, and Blaise still looked a little bit suspicious but he just let it go, which Pansy was rather grateful for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… well, best of luck.”  He sighed, and Pansy nodded, grateful for the end of this conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Zabini.  See you around.”  She said, and froze when she realized that Blaise might twist that.  He did, almost immediately when he pushed himself off the wall and raised his eyebrow, the smirk back on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’ll be watching.”  He said, and she suppressed her urge to vomit one final time and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Again, not interested.”  Pansy stated, and Blaise rolled his eyes and leaned forward a little bit, looking all too smug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  I’m supposed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>that.”  He smirked and Pansy shook her head.  He just wasn’t catching the hint, Merlin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Believe it.  Bye.”  Pansy sighed, and turned on her heel, rushing down a hallway she’d only checked once.  Part of her hoped that she wouldn’t be able to find Draco, then she’d have plausible deniability.   She was a little too lost in her thoughts though, because she managed to plow over the </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>person in the hallway.  Pansy panicked for a moment before she saw a flash of red hair.  Oh.  Just Ginny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you off to in such a fucking rush?  You almost knocked me over.”  Ginny said, a small chuckle in her tone as she steadied the Slytherin.  Pansy sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she thought of what she was supposed to say.  She figured her best bet was as close to the truth as possible without giving too much away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, sorry Gin.  I was looking around for Draco… don’t suppose you’ve managed to see him since classes let out?”  Pansy asked and Ginny thought for a moment and nodded, and Pansy let out a small breath of relief.  So he wasn’t somewhere dangerous… probably, she actually had no idea what Ginny got up to in her spare time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw him pacing around outside the room of requirement about an hour ago?  But since that, nothing… possibly because I was outside on the quidditch pitch, but also because we don’t really seem to cross paths much.”  Ginny explained, and Pansy nodded.  That made sense, she didn’t think that Draco and Ginny spent any concentrated time together.  But knowing he’d been outside the Room of Requirement was a start, maybe he’d figured out how to get inside of it.  She wouldn’t put it past him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s something at least.  Thanks, Weasley.”  Pansy said, and she went to leave, but before she could, Ginny caught her arm and raised an eyebrow.  Oh Merlin, what had she done </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>to deserve that look?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and next time you tell my brother about something, warn me first.  He’s been hounding me for Dean’s name all day.”  Ginny sighed and Pansy grimaced.  Okay, yeah she really should’ve talked to Ginny before saying anything, but she acted from the heart.  Not an excuse, just her jumping the gun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry love, it was a duty.”  Pansy said quietly and Ginny rolled her eyes and let go of her arm.  For a moment, Pansy thought she might be upset, but then she saw the smirk spreading across Ginny’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.”  Ginny chuckled, and they went their separate ways, Pansy mentally cursing out Draco for deciding to pace outside of a door that was on </span>
  <em>
    <span>such </span>
  </em>
  <span>a high floor.  She hoped to Merlin that he was in there, not the Astronomy tower or something, she just didn’t feel like doing those stairs today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… so room of requirement, room of requirement… here?”  Pansy mumbled, and stopped a little bit short of where the room was, trying to remember what it was Hermione and Ron had done to get them in there.   They’d just basically… willed it to be.  Pansy tried, and tried, but nothing seemed to be working, that is until she realized that she was indeed in front of the wrong part of the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here goes nothing… I need a </span>
  <em>
    <span>door</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She said, and watched in shock as one appeared. “Hm.  I must be a natural.”  Pansy smirked, straightening her tie as she yanked open the heavy wooden door.  She shouldn’t have been surprised to see Draco, he was smart enough to figure it out, but it still made her jump.  Because there he was, bent over some sort of broken cabinet, working so intensely that it took Pansy clearing her throat three times before he turned around, jumping a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!  What are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing </span>
  </em>
  <span>here?”  Draco hissed, and Pansy chuckled and raised her eyebrow.  Really?  What was she </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing</span>
  </em>
  <span> here?  As if it wasn’t obvious that she was looking for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, looking for you.  Seriously, what are you doing holed up in here?  And what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell </span>
  </em>
  <span>is that?”  Pansy asked, jutting her chin towards the cabinet.  Draco took a step in front of it, as if trying to shield it from her view.  As if she hadn’t seen it before he noticed her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something that’s gonna be instrumental in perfecting our way of life.”  He said, and wow, Pansy hadn’t thought he was capable of being so damn cryptic.  It was annoying, she just wanted to clear his name.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I didn’t ask for your life story, I asked for an explanation.”  Pansy said, and Draco cleared his throat and looked behind him for a moment before making eye contact with her again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a vanishing cabinet.  It connects to another one, and it’s gonna help me along my way…”  Draco explained, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  This was not going in his favor, or in hers.  She really didn’t want to lose another bet to Daphne and Tracey, even if this one had no sort of reward.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, you sound crazy.  What’s this all about?”  Pansy asked, hoping he’d explain that it was for a class or something, but instead he just shook his head and grinned at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can fix it, Pansy.”  He said, and Pansy chuckled.  Well obviously he could, the cabinet didn’t seem to be too broken to her, it would probably only take another week or so.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t doubt that.  It’s a cabinet-.” Draco sighed and cut her off, crossing his arms before he started to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  I can make sure my father is so proud of me that nothing he hears about will ever disappoint him.  I can be his pride and joy, Pansy I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>it!”  He said, and Pansy’s eyebrows shot up her forehead because honestly, who would willingly want to spend time with Lucius Malfoy?  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would you want that?  And what exactly are you planning on doing?”  Pansy asked cautiously, and Draco’s eyebrow shot up as a slightly crazed smirk spread onto his face.  She felt her blood go cold because this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>helping his case.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Planning on doing?   Nothing, nothing at all.  I’ve been given a simple task.”  He sighed and Pansy really did not want to ask the next question that she had.  She wanted to maybe, just maybe, be able to keep his friendship, but if he did what she thought… this was the end.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“By who?”  Pansy asked and Draco’s smile grew bigger, still eerily empty of emotion, but he did sound enthusiastic when he responded to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who else?  The Dark Lord himself.  He </span>
  <em>
    <span>chose </span>
  </em>
  <span>me.”  Draco said excitedly, and Pansy shook her head and sighed.  This was a whole new </span>
  <em>
    <span>level</span>
  </em>
  <span> of losing himself, even for him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, what the fuck.”  Pansy sighed, and Draco reached out to her and took both of her hands in his.  She allowed it for the moment and took a deep breath, closing her eyes.  Willing herself to not break his neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, you could join too…. Get back in your parent’s graces.”  He started and Pansy let out a humorless laugh and shook his hands off of her, pushing her hair off of her forehead.  She never wanted to go back to her parents, ever again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, I never want to go back to that dreadful house again, especially if it involves living with my parents.  Second, they don’t even remember me.  Third… Why are you doing this?  Just for ‘Daddy’s’ attention?  Honestly, Draco… I thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>had issues with my father figure.”  Pansy said, and Draco’s jaw clenched as he shook his head.  What had Pansy been wrong about that, all of that seemed to be true to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am <em>not </em>just doing this for my father’s attention.  I believe the dark lord.  I believe in his teachings and-.”  Pansy let out a surprised laugh that she hadn’t even felt coming on.  <em>Believed </em>in him?  Draco used to talk about how much he <em>feared </em>the man when he came to Malfoy Manor, and now suddenly he believed in him?  This was too much.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since fucking when?  Like yeah, you used to spout off that stupid pureblood idea of being practically a master race or whatever but… you were getting better.”  Pansy said gently, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder.  He stopped breathing for a moment when she touched his shoulder, and Pansy thought he was going to show true human emotion, but instead of doing that, he shook her arm off and huffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I was becoming </span>
  <em>
    <span>blind </span>
  </em>
  <span>to my true purpose.  My father told me so, I’ve been too lenient on Mudbloods and-.”  Pansy shoved him and watched him stumble and catch himself, while making sure she took deep breaths, closing her eyes.  She needed to make sure that she didn’t actually kill him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t ever fucking use that word in front of me again, or I’ll have to hex you.”  Pansy growled and Draco put his hands up in defense and scowled at her.  Did he </span>
  <em>
    <span>honestly </span>
  </em>
  <span>think that she was going to take his side?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Knowing</span>
  </em>
  <span> who her girlfriend is?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you so angry?  We could finally do something to make them </span>
  <em>
    <span>proud </span>
  </em>
  <span>of us.”  He snapped and Pansy shook her head in disbelief and poked her finger into his chest as she walked him across the room, glaring at him as she watched him shrink.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Voldemort wants people like my girlfriend, the woman I </span>
  <em>
    <span>love</span>
  </em>
  <span> to die.  He thinks they’re scum who don’t deserve magic.  Do you believe that?  Look me right in my eyes and tell me that you do or else I’ll never believe you.” She said, and for a moment she saw his gaze falter and she got her hopes up, until his eyes hardened and he put a sneer on the fact that rivaled the one he used to have in first year and straightened up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione Jean Granger </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>scum, you can do so much better then some stupid Mudblood freak-.”  Before Pansy could stop herself, her hand shot out and struck him across the face, shocking them both.  Before she could show that she was surprised, or remorseful in any way Pansy cleared her throat and straightened her uniform. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>warned </span>
  </em>
  <span>you about that word!  And how dare you, mister ‘I’m in love with the Golden boy’.”  She snapped, and Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair, seeming very much like he was disconnected from the world.  Pansy wondered internally if he was under the Imperius Curse or something, because this didn’t seem like him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something tells me he and I aren’t going to last.  After all, I’ve already pledged my allegiance to the other side.”  He said, and Pansy felt herself get a little sick.  That could mean anything, right?  Sure, Draco had his… </span>
  <em>
    <span>problems</span>
  </em>
  <span>… but he wouldn’t do something like that?  Joining the group of people who wanted muggles dead.  Their </span>
  <em>
    <span>classmates </span>
  </em>
  <span>could die.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco… you didn’t.”  Pansy said quietly, feeling her heart drop to her stomach.  Draco hung his head and sighed, taking a moment to compose himself.  When he lifted his head up, he had a look of pure glee, but Pansy could see no emotion detectable behind his eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t it perfect?  I can be the perfect heir for my father, maybe I’ll never have to marry, maybe… if I’m luckier, I’ll die.”  He explained, and that last part of the sentence made Pansy grimace.  She wanted to help him, she <em>needed </em>to help him… but she couldn’t if he <em>really </em>believed what they thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is he making you do?”  Pansy asked, and Draco shook his head, his lips forming a thin line on his face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t tell you that.”  He said quietly, and Pansy took a step closer to him and cocked an eyebrow.  She had ways to get it out of him, and not all of them were entirely humane.  Not that she really cared about that anymore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco Lucius Malfoy.”  She warned, and Draco shrugged, refusing to look her in the eyes.  Merlin, what a brat!</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s confidential.  Just know that I think this school will be under some </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>better leadership next year.”  Draco said haughty, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, crossing her arms.  She couldn’t believe that </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>was how this was ending up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you’ve gone off the fucking rails, haven’t you?  All from one stupid letter?”  Pansy asked, and Draco shrugged, looking at the ground and scuffing his foot before he started speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t understand the stress that I was under-.”   Pansy let out a humorless laugh and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I don’t?  So I suppose the person I considered my best friend </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> out me to the entire school-.”  Draco cut her off with a little bit of pain in his eyes, and she almost found it amusing.  Good, Pansy wanted him to know </span>
  <span>just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>badly </span>
  </em>
  <span>he’d manage to fuck up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was never supposed to go that far-.”  Pansy held up a hand to silence him and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not.  Fucking.  Done.  I suppose I haven’t been mercilessly bullied, been disowned, and had my father nearly obliviate me?  That </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>happen then?”  Pansy asked, and Draco’s face fell, his sneer suddenly gone.  Yeah, that's about what Pansy thought.  He couldn’t even stand up for his own statements, he just had to pretend like he was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>one with issues.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.”  He tried, and Pansy smacked his arm away and took a large step away from him, feeling like her skin was on fire.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, get the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>away from me.”  Pansy snarled, and turned on her heel, storming over to the door.  She had her hand on the handle, but Draco pulled her back before she could open it up and leave.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy wait!”  Draco pleaded, and Pansy yanked her arm out of his arm and glared behind her.  She had to keep her cool, just for a little while so she could get the hell out of here.  She didn’t want to do anything stupid.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay back, Draco.  Last warning.”  Pansy huffed, and Draco took another step forward, causing Pansy to level her wand at him.  She wanted to hurt him, possibly even </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>him right now because… who the hell </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>something like this and doesn’t see an issue with it?  But she took a deep breath, remembering that she couldn’t do that, not now.  It would make her no better than what he had become.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I can-.”  Pansy flicked her wand once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Collosho.</em>”  she whispered, and Draco tried to move towards her again, but was stuck in his spot, and gave her a look.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A sticking charm?  Come on, Pansy.”  Draco sighed, and yeah, Pansy could admit that it was a bit childish but she realized she probably shouldn’t hurt him or kill him, especially if he’s made such dangerous allies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I’m not going to hurt you.  Unlike you, I still have some fucking morals.  Fuck off, Malfoy.”  Pansy spat, and stormed out of the room of requirement and down the hall, walking as fast as possible, hoping she didn’t run into anyone.  She just wanted to go and curl up in her bed and not think about this again.  At least for a week, and then she could figure out what the hell she was going to do about this shit.  She threw open the dungeon door and walked into her dorm, collapsing on her bed.  Tracey and Daphne’s conversation halted suddenly, and Pansy groaned to herself.  She didn’t want to talk about it.<br/>“So… did you find Draco?”  Tracey asked cautiously, and Pansy sighed and nodded, sitting up.  Her head was <em>pounding</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne’s eyebrow arched up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And were we right?”  She asked, and Pansy gave her a look before answering.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Oh </em>yeah.”  She muttered, and Daphne sat on one side of her, Tracey on the other.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…”  Tracey prompted, and Pansy shook her head.  She was going to tell someone, she was… but she really didn’t even know what he was doing yet, just who he was working with.  She didn’t want to seem like she was jumping to conclusions.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t tell you yet… I can’t.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne rubbed across her shoulders gently, letting out a small sigh.  Pansy knew this might be coming across as cryptic and irritating, but she really wasn’t going to say anything.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.”  Daphne started and Pansy jerked out from under her hand and huffed, glaring at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, just shove off, alright?”  Pansy snapped, and she did feel a little bit bad about how she’d reacted, but it had been such a long day.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin… okay… do you… shit, I don’t know… do you wanna talk about it?”  Tracey offered and Pansy shook her head.  What about </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>said she wanted to talk about it?  She wanted to be obliviated.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never want to taste the fucking words.”  Pansy growled, and Tracey took her hand off of the other girl’s shoulder, clearly a little bit uncomfortable with the sheer amount of <em>energy </em>that Pansy was putting off.  She didn't blame her for the reaction. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…”  Tracey said, and Pansy looked forward, trying to think of what to say, but she was honestly at a loss.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There has to be a reason why he’s doing what he’s doing…”  Pansy said, and she really wanted to believe that.  Daphne sighed and leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand before glancing over at the other girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My bet is getting back in-.”  Pansy cut her off and nodded.  She didn’t even need Daphne to finish that sentence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Part of it.  But…”  Tracey cut her off with a light hand resting on her shoulder.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, if you can’t even tell us, I don’t think we should be coming up with theories about it.”  Tracey said and Pansy paused.  That’s probably the best idea any of them had had so far.  To not talk about it and just let Pansy be, that is what she’d wanted from the moment she'd gotten into the dorm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”  Pansy trailed off.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So maybe you should get some sleep?”  Tracey asked and Pansy sighed and nodded, resting her head in her hands.  That was probably going to be the best bet, and she <em>had </em>wanted to go to bed when she got back here.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… okay.  Yeah.  Some rest.“  Pansy said quietly, and Tracey stood up, gesturing for Daphne to join her.  The other girl didn't get the memo right away, but eventually she picked up on it and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Night, Parkinson.”  Daphne sighed, squeezing Pansy’s hand before standing up.  Pansy nodded and let out a long breath.  This was going to be such a long night.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Night, Daph.  Tracey.”  Pansy sighed, and she pulled the curtains shut around her bed, content to just sit in the dark and think, but Tracey yanked the curtains open.  Goddamnit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t hold it in if it's going to make you feel like hell, just go scream it at Black Lake.  That’s what I used to do.”  Tracey said, and Pansy fought a small chuckle because that was <em>such </em>a Tracey thing to do… even if it did confuse the hell out of Pansy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll… keep it in mind.”  Pansy said, her confusion clearly showing through as Daphne chuckled and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a really fucking weird thing to do, Tracey.”  Daphne sighed, and Tracey shot a glare at her and huffed, crossing her arms.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’m sorry, which one of us has the most healthy coping mechanisms?  You smoke until you can’t feel anything and Pansy’s a loose cannon.”  Tracey spat and Pansy cleared her throat and clapped her hands together, just wanting them to shut the fuck up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin!  Okay, okay.  I’ll try it.”  Pansy sighed, and Tracey looked triumphant as Daphne sighed and stepped around her, looking down at Pansy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  Now sleep, P.”  Daphne insisted, easing Pansy down onto her bed and pulling the girl’s blanket over her.  Pansy supposed that she didn’t really have a choice, she had to sleep when she was literally forced into it.  She couldn't just stare out into the dark and think about how she'd missed those fucking signs.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0040"><h2>40. Chapter 40</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the short chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pansy had felt sick for days, ever since she’d seen Draco in the room of requirement.  She was mentally kicking herself for not checking his arm, not fully checking to see if maybe he was bluffing.  But she knew in her heart that if she’d seen the mark there, that there was nothing she could’ve kept off limits.  She probably would’ve hexed him within an inch of his life, but still…. She was completely consumed with figuring it out.  Also, the thought of actually eating right now made her stomach churn as she looked down at her plate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you haven’t eaten a full meal in days, I’m starting to get worried about you.”  Daphne said, breaking through Pansy’s silence.  She looked up and went to speak, but Tracey interrupted her and sighed, resting her head in her hands for just a moment before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Starting to?  I’ve been worried since she came into the dorm in a hysteria after confronting Draco.”  Tracey said, her hands muffling her voice a bit.  Pansy rolled her eyes and speared a potato on her fork before pointing it at the two girls across from her, honestly thinking they were being a bit overdramatic.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, really.  I’m fine, I’m just not hungry.”  She sighed, setting down her fork on her plate and pushing around the remainder of her food.  Draco had </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do with what was going on with her eating, at least that was what she kept telling herself.  She couldn’t get that image out of her head, of Draco looking both so numb and so satisfied about his decision.  It was haunting.  Pansy was shaken from her thoughts by Tracey placing a gentle hand on hers, prompting her to look up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t talk about it soon, it's going to eat you alive and you know it.”  Tracey said softly, and Pansy rolled her eyes, resting both elbows on the table so that she could rest her chin between them.  This was getting tiring, so maybe she should’ve just skipped dinner, avoided more questions.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, just let it go, alright?”  Pansy snapped, and she meant it.  She was so fucking sick of this being the only thing on their minds.  Like yes, it was a large burden of information to carry but she’d be damned if she dumped it on either of them.  Pansy sighed and stood up, straightening out her skirt.  She turned to leave the dining hall, </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>just to go meet her girlfriend, when she felt a hand reach over and hold her wrist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.” Tracey started, and Pansy yanked her hand free and cast a glare down at the girl.  Well, she hadn’t been leaving to make them shut up at first, but she sure as hell was as of now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I’ve got to meet Hermione in the library.  You can continue </span>
  <em>
    <span>hounding </span>
  </em>
  <span>me in the dorm tonight.”  Pansy said through clenched teeth.  Tracey’s eyebrows drew up in concern and she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not-.” She started, and Daphne reached over to rub a comforting hand across the other girl’s back, letting out a small huff of frustration before leveling Pansy’s glare with one of her own.  It was Pansy’s personal opinion that the only person who could match her glare </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>Daphne, but she held strong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let her go, Trace.  It’ll do no good to keep trying this while she’s angry, we both know that.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy huffed and crossed her arms.  How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>Daphne assume Pansy’s emotions, even if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of right!  It wasn’t like she was going to let the other girl think that she had won.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not fucking angry!  I just want the two of you to mind your own fucking business, alright?”  Pansy snapped back, and Daphne laughed humorlessly and rolled her eyes, still rubbing her hand across Tracey’s shoulder blades.  She honestly couldn’t be all that shaken up, at least Pansy thought so.  They all fought all the time, Tracey for sure could've handled this without Daphne babying her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  Daphne sneered, and Pansy rolled her eyes and turned on her heel before she said anything else that could be damaging to their friendship.  She stormed out of the great hall and over to the library, feeling more relieved than ever to spend some time with Hermione, and she wasn’t in the mood to think about the gravity of <em>that </em>statement.  She’d never really let herself get attached before, it was still hard.  But the second she saw the other girl, Pansy <em>felt </em>herself relax a little bit, and her mind was no longer only on her stress, especially with Hermione flashing her that smile.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!”  Hermione greeted her brightly, and Pansy offered a half hearted smile as she set down her bag and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi.”  Pansy said quietly, dropping into the seat across from Hermione.  The Gryffindor let out a low whistle and set down her quill in favor of taking Pansy’s hands.  Merlin, was her upset really that obvious?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah.  Okay. I can feel your brooding all the way over here, love.  Do you wanna talk about it?”  Hermione asked, rubbing her thumb across Pansy’s knuckles for a moment.  Pansy sighed and </span>
  <span>closed her eyes at the contact, feeling calm for the first time in three days.  Merlin, had she really not seen her girlfriend in <em>three days</em>?  She supposed she had been avoiding everyone, so it made sense.  And she <em>did </em>want to talk about it with Hermione, but she knew that she couldn’t just do that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t.  I want to but… I can’t.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione’s lips pressed into a tight line for a moment before she spoke again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… Well, what if you just told me part of it.  I’m not asking for details or for all of it, I just think you need to get some of it off your chest.”  Hermione said carefully, and it was clear to Pansy that she was attempting to not upset her more, which was a little disheartening.  Was Hermione really that scared of making her mad?  She didn’t do it all that often, at least not anymore.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re probably right.  Okay.  Okay.  You won’t ask me to explain, right?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded and crossed her arms, leaning back against her chair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely.”  She said, and Pansy did not believe that for a moment.  She believed that Hermione intended to not ask any questions, but she also knew that that was never going to happen.  It just wasn’t something she was very good at, so Pansy braced herself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m no longer friends with Draco.”  Pansy breathed, and both of Hermione’s eyebrows shot up before her expression went deathly serious.  Oh great, this was <em>exactly </em>why she hadn’t even wanted to mention being upset to Hermione, she was gonna go all stupid Gryffindor and get herself killed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did he hurt you?  I swear I’ll-.”  Hermione started, and Pansy sighed and looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.  So much for not asking for details, but she supposed that wasn’t a <em>major </em>detail, and it was kind of cute that Hermione had grown so protective of her.  And truth be told, Hermione might be kind of hot telling Draco off about this.  Pansy considered telling her the rest for a long moment before shaking her head.  She couldn’t, not yet.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love, you said you weren’t going to ask for details, remember?”  Pansy said softly, and Hermione sighed and nodded, all the anger melting out of her body, at least physically.  She still had a scowl painted on her face, but it looked a little cute, not threatening at all anymore.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right of course.”  Hermione sighed, drumming her fingers on the table, clearly thinking about all the ways she could personally rip Draco limb from limb, and she didn’t even know what was wrong.  Pansy reached across the table and ran her thumb across Hermione’s knuckles, attempting to calm her just a little bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just know that he won’t be a part of our lives anymore.”  Pansy stated, and this seemed to stun the other girl into silence.  Pansy could see why, after all, Draco was dating her best friend, and obviously they would see each other, so it didn’t make much sense.  At least Pansy thought they were still dating, she’d have to find a roundabout way to ask Potter..</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I can see why you’re so upset.”  Hermione finally said, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  No way she knew what was upsetting Pansy, it was too many things to even count, some of which she was sure she wasn’t acknowledging yet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can?”  Pansy asked, eyebrow cocked.  And Hermione nodded, looking far too sure of herself in Pansy’s opinion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got my theories.  After all, you’ve just ended one of your oldest friendships, and that can be really mentally taxing.”  Hermione said, and Pansy nodded.  That was exactly right, and she was right about what was probably stressing her out the most.  Yes, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>angry </span>
  </em>
  <span>at Draco for joining the Dark Lord, but more than anything, she was angry that Draco would betray her, it was anxiety inducing that he could change so easily, just days after she and Hermione, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>muggleborn</span>
  </em>
  <span>, had saved his life.  It was terrifying.  Because if he could change back to who he had been that easily, maybe Pansy could too, and that wasn’t an idea she was willing to even consider.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose you’re right about that.”  Pansy responded, and Hermione seemed to want to ask more, to press, but thankfully she didn’t.  Which was more than Pansy could say for Daphne and Tracey, and she knew they just wanted to help, but it was nice to talk to someone who would just let it go for a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… is it something he can ever fix?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy was quick to shake her head.  She couldn’t see a world where she would ever forgive Draco for this.  He knowingly joined a group that wanted the death of her girlfriend, that lost him friend privileges permanently.  Not even outing her had done that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in the foreseeable future, no.”  Pansy said grimly, and Hermione looked over at her with what her brain </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>to tell her was pity, but she knew it was just an attempt to sympathize, so she pushed down her knee-jerk anger response and let her girlfriend talk.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, love.”  Hermione said and Pansy nodded.  Honestly, she was sorry too.  She and Draco had had their fair share of rough patches during their friendship, but they always managed to patch things up… it just didn’t seem possible anymore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay I’m just… I’m tired.  It’s tiring, you know?” Pansy sighed, and Hermione nodded and drummed her fingers on the table again before flattening them and looking Pansy in the eye, a softness there that Pansy still had trouble expecting, especially when she was in moods such as this one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely. Hey.”  Hermione said, cocking her head to the side and Pansy raised an eyebrow and leaned a little bit forward.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”   She asked, and the other girl smiled at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here for a moment.”  Hermione said, holding her arms out.  Pansy laughed a little at this, apparently too loudly judging from the look she got from Madam Pince but honestly… what was Pansy meant to do from this angle?  They were across from each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, I can't just lean across the table-.”  Pansy started and Hermione shook her head and patted the chair next to her.  It felt less like a suggestion and more like an instruction, and Pansy knew that, but still stayed put.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sit next to me.”  Hermione instructed, and when she said it so plainly and as if it was the only option in the whole world, really, how could Pansy refuse?  She couldn’t, it wasn’t something that felt easy to do anymore.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay….”  Pansy sighed, and moved to sit next to her girlfriend.  The second she was sitting, Hermione drew her into her arms and held tight, and Pansy let her eyes close as the familiarness of it all just washed over her.  Something about Hermione just being <em>Hermione </em>made her feel so safe and calm and… far too vulnerable, she would have to work on that a bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s gonna be alright.  And it won’t be tiring forever, my love.”  Hermione said, her lips against Pansy’s hairline.  It was getting a little uncomfortable, having Pansy’s stress as the center of attention.  She much preferred to just shove this kind of shit down so it could fester until it exploded, and no she didn’t care that it wasn’t healthy, it was <em>far </em>easier.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… you’re right.  So…”  Pansy started, and Hermione ran her fingers through Pansy’s hair with one hand for a moment before letting it drop to the side and leaning forward a bit to look into the other girl’s eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want the topic to shift off of you, don’t you?”  Hermione asked softly, holding one of Pansy’s hands in both of hers and bringing it to her lips.  It always made Pansy blush just a bit when she did that, it felt calming.  She nodded and smiled just a little, tucking her hair behind her ear.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, that would be great.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione nodded, chewing on her lip.  She looked a little unsure of how she was supposed to shift off of this topic, and Pansy knew why.  Hermione wanted to make it <em>better</em>, and she felt that there was more work to be done, even though there wasn’t.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…”  Hermione started, and it quickly became clear to Pansy that the other girl wasn’t going to say anything so she sighed and picked her head up, looking Hermione in the eyes.  It was odd to her, that she still found it hard to not get distracted looking into her eyes, she felt that they should be over the honeymoon phase, but every day just felt like a new level of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, how was your day?” Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged, sighing for a moment as she traced pattern’s on Pansy’s shoulder as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was alright, Ron’s been complaining a bit about being single, but I told him that could be remedied if he went after girls he actually liked, not just ones that are available.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy chuckled and nodded.  See, that would make perfect sense if it weren’t for the fact that the girl Ron wanted was <em>Hermione</em>.  Pansy had made her peace with their friendship, but that was it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Solid advice, too bad the one girl he likes isn’t available right now… and I hope she isn’t for quite a long time, if I do say so myself.”  Pansy said, a small smirk on her face.  Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, I’m not-.”  Pansy cut her off with a quick kiss on the cheek.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You so are, and it's okay.  I know Weasley won’t do anything to cross me, especially after I helped Ginny out.”  She said, and Hermione nodded and chuckled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but I also know that if he were given the choice between me and Fleur Delacour, he would probably pick Fleur.”  Hermione pointed out, and this made Pansy laugh.  There wasn’t a world where Ron was going to be with Fleur Delacour, but if there was, it wouldn't be this one.  She was pretty sure it was frowned upon to get with your brother’s fiancee, especially with the age difference and Ron still being a <em>minor</em>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, like that would ever happen.  I remember her turning him down for the Yule, and it's even less likely now that she’s engaged to Ron’s brother.”  Pansy said, and she’d meant it as a joke, but Hermione was quick to become silent, and Pansy could tell she was thinking about something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you?”  Hermione asked softly, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and looked up at her again.  What did she mean?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shrugged, fiddling with her fingers as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pick Fleur over me?  I don’t blame you if you say yes-”  Hermione asked, and Pansy furrowed her brows.  Why the hell was that even a question?  If there was anything she saw Fleur as, especially after the way that the Veela had tried to convince her to stay so she didn’t break Hermione’s heart, it was a friend… almost.  She still wasn’t entirely sure if she trusted someone she barely even knew.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.”  Pansy said, and Hermione looked confused.  What about that was supposed to be confusing?  Pansy had said what she meant, plain as day.  She wouldn't choose Fleur over Hermione, that should be obvious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes.  She didn't think there was a single reason why she would <em>ever </em>choose anyone but Hermione, at least at this point in her life, but she would indulge her fears.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Granger.  Because I love you.  Yeah, Fleur’s good looking obviously, I mean she’s fucking part Veela, but she’s not you.  She’ll never be you, and for that reason she will never even come close to comparing to you.”  Pansy said softly, and she noticed immediately that Hermione wasn't buying it, especially from the way she sighed and shook her head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but-.”  Hermione started, and Pansy took her hand and shook her head.  Pansy didn't want her thinking that she didn't care, because even if she sometimes struggled with saying it, she really did care.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione Jean.”  Pansy said, her voice just firm enough to stop Hermione from saying anything else, but not firm enough that Hermione would think she was at all mad.  Pansy had managed to find that balance about two weeks ago, which was a relief because she was sick of people thinking she was mad <em>all </em>the time, anger sort of lost its meaning when it was a default setting after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  She sighed, and Pansy cleared her throat, trying to think of exactly the right way to say what was on her mind.  She wanted to say that Hermione was perfect, that she was so in love it concerned her sometimes, that she'd never felt this way about anyone before, but all of that seemed a bit too intense for what this situation.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re who I want, okay?  I know it's hard to believe, granted how I used to act towards you, but you can chalk a lot of that up to internalized homophobia, but… you’re it for me.  Seriously.”  Pansy said softly, and Hermione didn’t seem convinced at first.  She chewed her lip for a moment before sighing and nodding.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… okay.  Okay, I believe you.” Hermione said, and Pansy smiled and leaned forward, tipping her chin up with the tip of her finger and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.  It shouldn’t feel that amazing to kiss her after three days of not being around each other, but it felt like the world was slowly being put back on its axis.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, I’m glad you could get through that thought.”  Pansy murmured after they broke apart, and she leaned in for another kiss, but Hermione held her back with one hand. Pansy scowled and scoffed, because why stop her?  Other then they were in the library, but there wasn’t exactly a rule against it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, we do actually need to study, because we haven’t reviewed any of this recently.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy rolled her eyes and slumped down in her seat, a little bit annoyed at this outcome.  Like yes, she'd come to the library to study, but she also wanted to see her <em>girlfriend</em>, not just her overly intense study partner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but consider:  I could wing it.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head as she opened up her textbook.  Something told Pansy that she was losing this argument no matter what.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could </span>
  <em>
    <span>fail </span>
  </em>
  <span>and get very rude to me again for something I have no control over.  Now, that is not exactly something I’m interested in.  So, for that reason alone,  take your textbook out, right now.” Hermione instructed, and Pansy was a little annoyed by how quickly she opened up her textbook upon Hermione’s instruction.  She should work on getting back to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>immediately wanting to do what Hermione asked, it wasn’t great for her reputation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Merlin, you’re lucky you’re cute.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You love me.”  Hermione smirked and Pansy nodded and rolled her eyes.  This fucking girl, sometimes Pansy wondered why the hell she put up with her.  But then she looked over at Hermione's smirk and remembered exactly why she cared so much.  Would that stop her from say something back?  Of course not, it was in her nature.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  It seems I do.  What a shame.”  Pansy sighed, flicking to the next page in her book.  Hermione smacked her arm and scoffed, shaking her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!”  Hermione hissed and Pansy grimaced and rubbed her arm lightly.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to tell Hermione that she was far stronger than she thought, because that hit might just bruise.  If it <em>did </em>bruise, people may jump to some conclusions.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kidding, Mione.  Merlin, no need to lose your head.” Pansy laughed quietly and Hermione rolled her eyes. Pansy did realize that maybe shouldn't have said that, it might have come across as a little bit harsh.  She was sorry if she'd upset Hermione, but she didn't realize a moment of sarcasm would cause any problems.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need to be a fucking wanker!” Hermione huffed, crossing her arms.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and chuckled leaning over to wrap Hermione in a quick hug, tucking her head against the other girl's neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t!”  She insisted, pressing a few quick kisses to Hermione’s temple.  Hermione shoved her off and glared over, a little bit more intensely then she normally would over this kind of a joke.  Shit, was she actually mad?  Pansy couldn’t really tell.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Let's get to work, we’ve only got a couple hours.”  Hermione grumbled, and leaned back over her book. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely </span>
  </em>
  <span>silent which made Pansy a little bit uncomfortable, especially considering how much they’d been talking so far today.  She cleared her throat and tapped her arm, and Hermione looked up with a raised eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not actually mad at me, right?”  She asked, and Hermione looked confused.  She reached over and cupped Pansy’s cheek, her gaze softening as she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“No, I’m not.  Believe me, you’d know.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy sighed and leaned into her hand slightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Promise?”  She asked, and Hermione nodded and smiled slightly before dropping her hand next to her side again and turning back to face her book.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I promise.  Now, we really need to get back to work.”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed, but honestly she spent most of the time they were reviewing just staring at Hermione’s side profile, it was far more interesting than any passage in her Transfiguration book, that was simply a fact.  Granted, that didn't take much to begin with, but she still meant it to be a compliment, one she might actually use later... even though it would be more topical to say it now, she didn't want to interrupt again.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0041"><h2>41. Chapter 41</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She knew for a fact she was meant to be focused on what she was doing, there was no reason not to be, after all.  Because snogging the prettiest girl in school is something that should demand one’s concentration, but Pansy’s mind was elsewhere.  Not far away, focusing on something like divination, Merlin, she’d rather throw herself out the window.  No, today her brain was making her think about just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>funny </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was that she was actually dating Hermione Jean Granger, that she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>kissing </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy’s neck and not wringing it.  That the very thing that brought them together was a stupid Herbology project, the whole thing seemed a bit funny at this point, and Pansy couldn’t stop the slight chuckle, a fond one, but she supposed it was probably hard to tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you laughing at?”  Hermione asked breathlessly, pulling away from Pansy’s neck.  The other witch shook her head, an easy smile still on her face.  She did note her girlfriend’s very apprehensive look, and wanted to put it at ease as quickly as possible.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, nothing.”  Pansy sighed and Hermione raised an eyebrow, leaning a little further back as she pushed her hair out of her face.  Pansy couldn’t help but marvel at her a little bit, she looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>stunning</span>
  </em>
  <span> when she was a little bit flustered, it was hardly fair. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy… one, it's weird enough when you let out a laugh out of nowhere, because it's unexpected.  Two, I don’t know if I should be offended that you’re laughing while snogging me, it feels a little rude.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy shook her head.  She supposed it was weird to be laughing at this moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No it's just… sometimes I find it a little bit funny.” Pansy said and Hermione cocked an eyebrow, tracing little patterns on the back Pansy’s neck.  It was comforting, she quite liked how that felt.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Hermione asked and Pansy shrugged.  All of it.  The fact that they were in a relationship together, to begin with.  The fact that this time last year they both probably would've rather dropped dead over being in the same room together for an extended period of time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Us.  How we came to be.  Like, if we stay together for a long time what are we supposed to tell people?  The Whomping Willow brought us together?  It sounds ridiculous, honestly.  I don't know if it should even be talked about.” Pansy explained, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, leaning back in a little bit before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Trying to rewrite our origin story so soon, love?”  Hermione asked, curling herself onto Pansy’s lap again, pressing her face into the crook of Pansy’s neck.  Pansy reached up and started stroking through Hermione’s hair with an easy smile on her face.  It was nice, when they were like this.  It was easy to forget that her ex best friend had become a death eater and would probably be part of the reason why Hermione’s best friend was murdered.  No, in here they were just the two of them, nothing else seemed to matter too much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No of course not, I just figured… maybe the starting point could be the quidditch game or something-.”  Hermione shook her head and chuckled, effectively cutting her off.  Pansy didn't exactly knew what she'd said wrong in that moment, but she was willing to listen</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, because ‘my now girlfriend collapsed in my arms and sobbed hysterically when we hardly knew each other’ is </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>the intro.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and chuckled, leaving a light kiss on her hairline.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I mean you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>fall for me.  Quite literally in fact, if I’m remembering correctly.”  Pansy chuckled and Hermione groaned and shoved her away, glaring at her.  Pansy knew that was a risk when she said it, but she didn't want to apologize.  It wasn't often that she made puns, Hermione should be grateful.  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrible </span>
  </em>
  <span>joke.”  Hermione sighed, going to stand up.  Pansy caught her wrist and pulled her back down so they were sitting beside each other.  Hermione tried to squirm away, and Pansy wrapped her arms around the other girl’s waist and held her tightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, come back!  Come on, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”  Pansy pleaded, and Hermione stopped struggling and turned around, letting Pansy’s head rest just below her chest.  Pansy let her eyes flutter shut and sighed contently from her position.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  Because that </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>funny.”  Hermione huffed, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head, raising her head up just a little bit so her chin was now resting in the spot where her cheek had originally been.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Well.  It was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>funny.”  Pansy tried, and Hermione gave her a look and shook her head, reaching down just a bit so she could run her fingers through Pansy’s hair.  She sighed quietly and closed her eyes again.  It felt nice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it wasn’t.  I was in emotional distress because I thought my best friend was going to die, why make light of that?”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy shrugged, clearing her throat.  She had honestly thought that at this point Hermione might just be unaffected by death and Harry’s extreme pull towards it.  They’d been friends for six years after all, so she had actually had plenty of time to get over it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because your best friend almost dies every other goddamn week, ‘Mione.  It’s not like it's an uncommon occurrence, I mean sure, you’ve made it less common because you’re the source of common sense but it still happens all the time.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, clearly trying to think of a good response.  Pansy doubted that she would be able to think of one that would work exactly the way that Hermione would want it to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean… you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>but you shouldn’t say it, and you really shouldn’t joke about it!”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy shrugged and looked down at her fingernails. It didn't seem to be too serious to Harry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?  I’m one who is quick to say what is on their mind, love.  Thought you liked that about me.  Plus, I’m sure Harry does the same thing, it's in his nature.”  Pansy pointed out, and </span>
  <span>Hermione sighed and shook her head, completely ignoring the last part of Pansy’s statement and only addressing the first half.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do… most of the time.”  Hermione mumbled, and Pansy’s eyebrows shot up.  What the hell was </span>
  <em>
    <span>most of the time </span>
  </em>
  <span>supposed to mean, because it didn’t exactly feel super sincere.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That felt a little backhanded.”  Pansy chuckled, and Hermione nodded, cupping Pansy’s cheek as she looked at her, her eyes so clearly full of a fake sincerity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was meant to, dear.”  Hermione said, patting her cheek lightly, and Pansy rolled her eyes and huffed.  She wasn’t actually mad, but it was still sometimes fun to mess with Hermione, not to mention she’d done the same exact thing earlier, so this could be considered a bit of payback.  She pushed herself up off of Hermione, which prompted the other girl to pop up on her elbows, giving her a look of concern.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, if that's how it's going to be, I can leave right now.”  Pansy said, making sure her voice was heavy with faux hurt as she stood up slowly.  Hermione sighed and wrapped her arms around Pansy’s waist, forcing her back down and onto her lap, which pushed a laugh out of her.  Hermione tucked her face against Pansy’s chest and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no.  Come on, Pans.  I was joking.  Plus, we hardly have time to do this anymore.” Hermione said, her voice muffled, and Pansy arched her eyebrow.  She honestly didn’t know why they had to hide every time they wanted to do this, guys and girls did it all the time and no one said anything to them, she doubted it would be that different.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Make out?  We could do it all the time if you would simply ask, I’m sure people use broom closets and shit for this, we don’t have to go all the way up to the room of requirement every </span>
  <span>time you want to snog.”  Pansy said, dropping a light kiss right below Hermione’s ear.  She heard the other girl’s breath hitch, but before she could go any further Hermione shoved her back and chuckled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, that is not entirely what I meant, and two you will not catch me </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead </span>
  </em>
  <span>snogging anyone in a broom closet, not even you.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy chuckled.  As if this wasn’t as much sneaking around as that would be, but she realized that she might have figured out what had Hermione so grossed out by the thought of being in a broom closet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Terrified that Ms. Norris would become a peeping tomcat?” Pansy asked, waggling her eyebrows.  She was well aware that it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>funny, but she didn’t expect Hermione to cover her face with her hands and shake her head like it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>offensive</span>
  </em>
  <span> or rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a terrible pun.”  Hermione groaned, and Pansy smiled and leaned a little bit closer, their faces mere inches apart.  Pansy did want to close that gap, push down Hermione’s hands so she could kiss her.  But she needed Hermione to admit that she was right before she could do that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But?”  Pansy prompted, and Hermione dropped her hands and gave her a significant look as she nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well yes, that cat is </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Filch is never far behind.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy knew she was right.  Plus, it prompted a pretty hilarious image in Pansy’s mind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Merlin, imagine him announcing that we were doing that down the corridor as he ran.”  Pansy said, a chuckle lilting over her voice.  Hermione’s face dropped and she shook her head, looking equal parts lost and a little disgusted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t-.”  Pansy cleared her throat and straightened up, flashing Hermione a smile before she started talking.  She knew this was going to be mortifying for her to listen to, but that wasn’t enough to stop her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘PROFESSOR!  THERE ARE STUDENTS SNOGGING IN A CLOSET!  COME QUICK!  THEY’RE </span>
  <em>
    <span>SNOGGING </span>
  </em>
  <span>IN THE </span>
  <em>
    <span>CLOSET</span>
  </em>
  <span>!  I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT MY EYES HAVE BEEN FORCED TO SEE!’”  Pansy said, pulling out her best Filch impression, which she knew wasn’t very good to begin with, but judging from the grimace on Hermione’s face it was even worse then she had been led to assume, and she’d be having some </span>
  <em>
    <span>words </span>
  </em>
  <span>with Daphne and Tracey about that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you are sometimes far too much, love.”  Hermione groaned and Pansy cocked an eyebrow and chuckled.  That was some of her best work, the other girl just didn’t appreciate her </span>
  <em>
    <span>genius</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would be <em>hilarious</em>.  You just don’t want to admit it, I know it and you know it.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione sighed and traced light patterns on Pansy’s skin as she spoke.  She wondered if maybe Hermione did that as a way to keep focus, if that was the case it was <em>very </em>effective.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dear, it would be mortifying for both of us, not to mention all the house points we could lose.  Two prefects?  Merlin, I’m sure Snape would have a field day with how much he could take from Gryffindor.”  Hermione chuckled, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Please, as if Gryffindor would be missing those points for longer than a day.  Plus, everyone else would probably be more focused on the whole Slytherin aspect and would make sure that Hermione had actually wanted to be there.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh please, you’d win them all back if Harry so much as sneezed and remembered to cover his nose.  Slytherin, on the other hand, would lose them all and it might stay that way, there's only so much Snape can do for us.”  Pansy pointed out, and Hermione chuckled and arched her eyebrow as she looked up at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you implying that there is favoritism towards Gryffindors?”  Hermione asked and Pansy gave her a look.  Seriously?  Pansy couldn’t tell if she was joking or not, but she really hoped that she was.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, thought that was pretty obvious…”  Pansy smirked, and Hermione smacked her arm lightly and chuckled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up!  As if one of </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>favorite people isn’t a Gryffindor.”  Hermione chuckled, and Pansy arched an eyebrow.  She could think of a million ways to mess with Hermione right now, just from that statement alone, and it only took her a moment to settle on what to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, now that you say it, you’re right.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded with a smile.  Pansy was interested in how long that smile was going to last.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, I know-.”  Pansy cut her off with a smirk and pressed a quick kiss to her lip before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a Gryffindor, what a coincidence.”  Pansy said, and Hermione sighed and covered her hands with her face, shaking her head.  Okay, that reaction was completely and entirely fair, Pansy was being a little annoying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, really?  Why did I have to fall for </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Hermione groaned, and Pansy chuckled, rubbing small circles onto Hermione’s back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because while I’m also supremely annoying, I’m equal parts devastatingly beautiful and charming”  Pansy said, willing her voice to sound very serious.  Hermione snorted and nodded, resting her hands on Pansy’s waist.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”  She sighed and Pansy’s eyebrow arched.  Now, she wasn’t expecting an </span>
  <em>
    <span>extreme </span>
  </em>
  <span>amount of denial, but she thought there might be some kind of a fight.  She didn’t know if she was pleasantly surprised or a little bit annoyed that Hermione was just letting it be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love that you didn’t even try to deny it.”  Pansy said and Hermione nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could’ve, but you seemed very proud of yourself.”  Hermione pointed out, and Pansy nodded.  That was entirely fair, she was very smug.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I was.”  Pansy said with a chuckle, and Hermione rolled her eyes before yanking Pansy down quickly by her tie, kissing Pansy firmly.  Pansy let out a small sigh and reached forward to knit her fingers into Hermione’s hair and settled down a little bit more as Hermione traced over the tops of Pansy’s thighs.  Pansy had the honest question of how she was supposed to remember what they were talking about before when Hermione fucking Granger’s tongue was in her mouth.  They’d been together for months at this point, and she still couldn’t get over it, it was a bit of an issue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please say Ginny isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>your favorite Gryffindor?”  Hermione said breathlessly as they broke apart, her hands resting lightly on Pansy’s waist.  Pansy’s eyes slowly fluttered open as she cleared her throat, shaking herself back into reality.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, unless Ginny ever kisses me like <em>that</em>, she never will be.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione’s jaw set as she shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If Ginny ever kisses you at all, I’ll hex her until she can’t walk.”  Hermione growled, and Pansy let out a pleased little chuckle as she ran her fingers up and down the nape of Hermione’s neck.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Possessive, are we?”  Pansy teased, and Hermione rolled her eyes and looked her in the eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  Just… wanting to set clear boundaries.  My friends are not going to kiss you.”  Hermione said flatly, and Pansy decided to take it one step further.  It was kind of cute to see Hermione get jealous, she’d never really seen it before.  She was always so level headed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  I don’t know, I <em>am </em>pretty irresistible.”  Pansy said, and Hermione sighed and gave her a significant look, obviously not loving Pansy's faux confidence in the moment, which was fair considering how much Pansy had messed with her today.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Pansy</em>.”  Hermione said, her voice dripping with an obvious warning, and Pansy held up her hands in surrender.  She wasn't being serious, and she thought that came across pretty clearly, but maybe she was wrong.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was joking, ‘Mione.”  She sighed, and Hermione flicked a brow up for a moment before looking away, refusing to meet Pansy's eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Hermione asked and Pansy nodded.  Obviously.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.  You’re all I want.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione smirked, leaning up a little bit and stopping just about three inches from Pansy’s face, flicking up her eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gone soft there, Parkinson?”   Hermione teased, and Pansy chuckled and nodded, cupping Hermione’s cheeks as she leaned in.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only for you.”  Pansy insisted, and kissed her softly, smiling against her lips.  How could there be someone else, kissing Hermione actually felt like coming home.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy hadn’t been paying much attention to her surroundings, and she should have been.  Maybe if she had, she wouldn’t have tripped over someone’s leg, which sent her books flying out of her hands.  She turned around, hellbent on bitching out whoever had managed to trip her, but that idea fizzled out when she saw it was only Luna.  She didn’t want to yell at her friend’s girlfriend, it seemed almost mean.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Luna?  Hey, what are you doing?”  Pansy asked, crouching down next to her.  Luna looked up at her with a smile and closed her textbook, crossing one leg over the other before she started to speak.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just reading.  Your brain is infested with Wrackspurts, love.”  Luna said, so casually that Pansy had almost missed the mention of an odd creature.  She raised an eyebrow and let out an uneasy chuckle.  Did that mean she was going to die or that she could see the dead or something like that?  She couldn’t remember… but she was pretty sure those were Thestrals. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it?  How interesting, I have no idea what to say to that... Um… is that good?”  Pansy asked, and Luna thought for a moment and shrugged before answering, like she wasn’t sure.  Oh great, that </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>put Pansy at ease.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not terrible, I suppose.”  Luna said and Pansy’s eyebrows shot up.  Yeah, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>sounded promising.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright…”  Pansy mumbled.  She had no idea if that was a good ‘I suppose’ or a bad one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, did you need something?”  Luna asked, and Pansy shook her head.  She'd tripped over Luna, obviously this wasn't an intentional meeting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… no, no.  I don't need anything.  I was just-.”  Luna leaned forward a little bit and smiled a bit wider, patting the ground in front of her invitingly before setting her textbook to the side of her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sit down for a moment.  If you’re not busy, I’d love some company.”  Luna said, and Pansy didn’t really have anything to do, so she figured why not.  She should bond more with Luna anyways, it was something she'd meant to be doing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… yeah, okay.”  Pansy mumbled, settling down across from her, just barely tucked out of the walkway.  Luna looked at her with a curious gaze that should’ve set Pansy on edge but it just didn’t, which she found odd.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?  You seem a little distant.”  Luna said, and Pansy looked over at her, and realized with some surprise that she was serious.  Luna </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to know what was going on.  Granted, so did Tracey and Daphne, but at least Luna wouldn’t pry if Pansy didn’t give details.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve just been tired, had a lot going on recently.”  Pansy confessed, and Luna gave her another smile, reaching forward to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  Pansy was surprised by how calming and natural it felt, having Luna offer her comfort, like they were meant to be friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I can tell that much.  Oh, also I wanted to thank you-.”  Luna didn’t get to finish whatever thanks she was giving before she was interrupted by a grating voice that immediately put Pansy on edge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looney Lovegood.  In the flesh.  What a treat.”  Crabbe sneered, and Pansy set her jaw and stood up, spinning around to face the boy.  She wanted nothing more than to leave him whimpering on the ground like she had with Goyle all those weeks ago, but she knew that she had to handle this a bit better.  Didn’t feel like getting expelled today.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back off, Crabbe.  I won’t hesitate to break that stupid nose of yours.”  Pansy snarled, and this seemed to amuse Crabbe.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you don’t have to-.”  Luna tried, and Pansy held her arm out and swept Luna behind her as she leveled her glare at Crabbe.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Luna.  I’ve got this, just stay back.”  Pansy said, lowering her voice and softening her tone just a bit when she looked over her shoulder at the Ravenclaw.  Luna, thankfully, listened and settled back down on the ground as Pansy turned to face Crabbe with a glare etched into her face.  It’d been a while since she’d been able to fuck someone up.  But if Crabbe’s smug look was any indication, he seemed to think he had some kind of a leg up on Pansy.  Bastard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never thought I’d see you stoop so low as to protect someone like </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She’s a freak, Parkinson.”  Crabbe said, and Pansy set her jaw and took a step forward, ready to cast a hex if need be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously.  Call my friend shit one more time, Vincent.  See what I’ll fucking do. I'm not scared of getting expelled.”  Pansy said, her voice coming out low and threatening, but Crabbe didn’t really seem to care about that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you’ll </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>much of anything.  Ever since you beat up that girl in the hall you’re all talk.”  Crabbe sneered, and Pansy chuckled and rolled her eyes.  So just because she wasn’t knocking people out, she’d become all talk?  How dumb.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Am I now?”  Pansy asked, a little amused by this.  But she did remember that no one had seen her smack Draco in the room of requirement, so maybe that was fair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  I think someone could insult that stuck up Mudblood girlfriend of yours and you wouldn’t do a-.”  Pansy’s fingers clenched around her wand, but before she could say anything, she saw Luna’s wand over her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Locomotor Wibbly.</em>”  Pansy heard a dreamy voice call out behind her, and Crabbe collapsed to the ground, struggling to stand back up again, and she looked at Pansy incredulously as the girl suppressed her laughter.  She wasn’t responsible for that, but <em>Merlin </em>did she wish that she was.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell?!”  Crabbe said, his voice sounding a bit panicked.  Fair, Pansy didn’t know wandless magic, obviously she hadn’t done it and Crabbe wasn’t expecting Luna to fight back at all.  Luna stepped up next to her and let out a small laugh.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, Pansy might be in danger of being expelled, but I’m not.  And what you were saying was rather rude.”  Luna stated, and smiled over at Pansy, who had to admit she was impressed.  She always forgot that Luna had been in the Dumbledores Army, of course she wasn’t scared of some stupid Slytherin bully.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You fucking <em>freak</em>.”  Crabbe growled, and Pansy stepped in front of Luna and held her wand steady in front of her.  Fuck not engaging, she was so sick of the way that Crabbe thought he could talk to Luna, it was disgusting.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Langlock</em>.  I swear, Crabbe.  You never know when to shut the fuck up.  Now get the hell out of here.  Now.”  Pansy snapped, and Crabbe clawed at her throat and reached for her wand, but Pansy pulled back, considering not undoing the curse, she figured it could be fun to have him shut up for a while… but she realized he wouldn’t leave with it still intact, so she muttered the counter curse.  He gasped in air, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Merlin, what a fucking drama queen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.”  Crabbe snapped, and he stormed off.  Pansy glared after him until the back of his robe was no longer visible, and then she turned around to Luna and gave her an apologetic smile.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay, Lovegood?”  Pansy asked softly, and the Ravenclaw nodded and sighed, rocking back on her heels for a moment.  Pansy let out a small breath of relief, because she was pretty sure that if Ginny’s girlfriend got hurt in her presence, she’d be getting hit with a bat bogey hex by the end of the day.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes, quite alright.  He’s quite a prick, isn’t he.”  Luna said, and Pansy let out a surprised chuckle.  She was just so used to Luna always being polite, it was nice to hear her just… be for a </span>
  <span>moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I suppose he is.”  Pansy sighed and both the girls were silent for a moment before Luna cleared her throat and spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>I wanted to thank you, by the way.”  Luna said, and Pansy’s eyebrows raised.  What was she being thanked for?  She hadn’t done anything recently.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”  Pansy asked, and Luna nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For helping Ginny the other day.  And for standing up for our relationship, I don’t think a lot of people would do that.”  Luna explained, and Pansy nodded.  Of course she was going to stand up for her friend, it only made sense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, I wasn’t going to let Ginny get herself super worked up.”  Pansy said and Luna nodded and sighed, tucking her wand away again in her robe before she responded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think you would.  I’m… a little surprised by you.”  Luna admitted and Pansy chuckled and knitted her brows.  That could be either good or bad, and Pansy really couldn’t guess which it was going to be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Pansy asked, and Luna shrugged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you weren’t exactly the kindest person last year, and I certainly wasn’t expecting you to be friends with me this year.”  Luna said, and Pansy grimaced as she thought back on how many times she’d mocked Luna the year before.  It was so rude, and a little bit tactless considering Luna hadn’t even approached her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me neither, but… I mean, I’m happier now than I was before, so I really don’t mind.”  Pansy said and Luna smiled at her and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad you’ve found your serenity, Pansy.”  Luna said, and Pansy thought that was a really nice way to say it.  Her serenity.  So much better than ‘you got in a relationship and finally chilled the fuck out after all these goddamn years.’<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah.  Me too.  Hey, do you need someone to accompany you back to the Ravenclaw tower?”  Pansy asked, and Luna’s eyebrow arched, as she looked up at Pansy, a little bit confused.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I know the way.  I’ve been at this school for five years.”  Luna pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Obviously she knew Luna knew how to get back to her own fucking dorm, but she took a moment before responding so that she didn’t snap.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I know.  I meant so that no one would try to come after you again.  It can be good to have a friend watching your back.”  Pansy explained and Luna thought for a moment before she nodded up at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  In that case, yes.  That would be so lovely.”  Luna said, and Pansy smirked and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool.  C’mon now, Lovegood.  Haven’t got all day, after all.”  Pansy said, throwing her arm around Luna’s shoulders as they continued down the hallway, ignoring the glares and looks she got from people, some of them obviously not getting the memo that Pansy wasn’t going to hurt the girl.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0042"><h2>42. AUTHOR'S NOTE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hello</p><p>To start off I wanted to thank everyone who has read this story thus far, it means quite a lot to me. Secondly, I'm taking the week off due to me being an American, and the election happening tomorrow.  With all the stress and fear and uncertainty, I just need to breathe for a second.  I will post another chapter as soon as I'm able.  I do apologize.</p><p>If you live in America, and even if you don't, please stay safe, check on your loved ones, and take care of yourselves</p><p> </p><p>~Bicalamity &lt;3</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0043"><h2>43. Chapter 43</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the break</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There wasn’t really a better way to spend her free period than resting her head on Hermione’s lap in a mostly abandoned corridor, at least not in Pansy’s opinion.  She had her eyes closed as she felt Hermione’s fingers lightly stroking through her hair, and for the first time in days she felt pretty relaxed.  She quite enjoyed that they didn’t need to talk sometimes just to be close to one another, it put her at ease.  If she was quite honest, that might be the thing that she liked the most about their relationship.  The way they’d managed to find such a nice level of comfort with one another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, are you okay?  You seem a little distant, like something’s on your mind.”  Pansy was shaken from her thoughts by Hermione’s gentle tone. She looked up into the other girl’s eyes, so worried and trusting, and felt a little bad.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>hiding something sort of major from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Oh.  No, no there's nothing going on.” Pansy lied, and she felt her stomach churn.  It wasn’t as if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>to lie to her girlfriend about all of this, it was just… as much as she hated Draco now, she also thought it was a bit rash to have him expelled.  Without this school she knew that he had nothing but his mother and his father… and that was detrimental enough in the little doses he got it.  But her lie wasn’t convincing enough, and Hermione gently tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear as she sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, you can tell me anything. Come on, love.”  Hermione prompted, and Pansy chewed on her lip, considering telling her one more time.  No.  Because what if she told Hermione and she decided to go tell Harry?  Or the headmaster.  She couldn’t do that to him, not even now, not even with what he’d become.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can tell you </span>
  <em>
    <span>most </span>
  </em>
  <span>things, love, but believe me I can’t tell you this.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione was silent for a moment, bouncing her leg, her chin rested on her hand.  Pansy could tell she wasn’t satisfied with that, and she didn’t blame her.  If Hermione had given her that line she would’ve called it bullshit and pushed until Hermione finally let it go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s about Draco isn’t it?” Hermione asked gently, and Pansy let out a sigh.  She didn’t want to talk about this, but she couldn’t exactly just avoid it altogether, that would come across as rather suspicious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…”  Pansy started and Hermione nodded and let out a long breath, running her fingers through Pansy’s hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew it.  If it's still bothering you so much, then you need to tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone </span>
  </em>
  <span>about it.  I don’t care if it's me or if it's someone else but keeping this secret is eating you alive.”  Hermione said and Pansy let out a scoff.  She’d hardly give the secret </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>much credit, it wasn’t like it was the only thing she could focus on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is not-.”  Hermione cut her off with a raised eyebrow.  Oh, this should be good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many meals have you remembered to eat this week?”  Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow and Pansy paused for a moment.  Shit, what </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>she eaten in the last week.  She’d been hungry but not exactly in the mood to eat...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um….”  Pansy started, and Hermione let out another long breath, causing Pansy to grimace.  She hated letting Hermione down.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.  You’ve missed dinner five out of the seven days of this week and I’m getting really worried about you, Pans.  I don’t want my girlfriend wasting away, okay?”  Hermione said, her voice gentle and full of concern.  Pansy let out a groan and covered her face because </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>was she supposed to lie to Hermione when she managed to look like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not-.  Okay.  Listen.  What I know about Draco could get him expelled, so as much as I want to talk about it, believe me I do, I can’t.”  Pansy insisted, and Hermione was silent for a good moment before speaking.  Never a good sign.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell someone.”  Hermione asked, sounding incredulous.  Pansy shrugged because honestly, it didn’t seem like something she wouldn’t do.  Hermione had always registered as someone who had to tell the truth… never-mind the millions of times she’d lied for Harry over the years...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean-.”  Hermione sighed and cut her off, shaking her head.  Well, if she didn’t want to hear the response, then why even ask?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unbelievable.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unbelievable</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  When have I not kept a secret you asked me to keep?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy thought about it.  Sure, there had been the times when she’d shown Daphne and Tracey the photo that she took over break, but that wasn't exactly her not keeping a secret.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never.”  Pansy admitted, and Hermione nodded, still looking a little taken aback, which was fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly!  So where is this fear coming from, darling?” She asked, and Pansy sighed and sat up, shrugging at Hermione.  She didn’t know what it was, other than the fact that part of her couldn’t get over the time when they hated each other.  What if it ever got back to that?  She’d already be ruined with all Hermione knew about her, she didn’t need to mix Draco into that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.  There was a time not so long ago that I was terrible to you and so was Draco and maybe there's still a part of your mind that wants to get back at either of us for that.”  Pansy said, her voice small.  Hermione was silent for a moment before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, pushing herself to her feet before she turned to look down at where Pansy sat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  Okay.  I’ve forgiven you for the person you were before, I did a long time ago because you showed me you wanted to get better, and then you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>get better.  It didn’t just stay something you wished would happen.  I love you, Pansy.  But if you don’t trust me because you think I’m going to betray your confidence… then maybe we need to cool off.”  Hermione sighed, and she went to walk away, but Pansy’s instincts kicked in at the last moment and she grabbed her arm, standing quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!  Hermione, please-.”  She tried, but Hermione shook her arm loose and shook her head, refusing to look back at Pansy.  If she’d looked back she would have seen the look of regret on Pansy’s face for what she’d said, she knew Hermione hadn't done anything to earn that fear, and she should’ve kept it to herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  I just… just give me the day, okay?  I need to think some things over.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy sighed, still holding fast onto Hermione’s sleeve.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we still together or…”  She trailed off, her chest clenching a little bit at the thought that she had just managed to ruin her relationship with Hermione in one sentence.  But instead of nodding, Hermione did turn around this time, to lightly cup Pansy’s face as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Currently we’re still together. I just need some time to think.  Just… I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”  Hermione insisted, dropping her hands and walking away, leaving Pansy a little bit shaken because… she felt that was an overly calm way to say that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… okay.”  Pansy muttered, at this point to herself, as she sat back down on the ledge and rested her head in her hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?”  She heard her name being said after a few minutes, and she knew it wasn’t Hermione, and when she glanced through her fingers she sighed.  Gryffindor robes, not a girl… Harry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want, Potter?”  Pansy sighed, and was completely ready to tell him she wasn't in the mood, but she was given pause when she saw his face.  Eyes puffy, face blotchy, cheeks still wet… he’d been crying about something, and he must have been desperate if he was coming to her to figure something out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can we… can we talk, please?”  Harry asked, his voice coming out croaky and a little bit hoarse.  Pansy nodded, knitting her eyebrows together as she yanked on his sleeve to pull him next to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Shit, you’re crying… are you alright?  Did Draco do something to you?”  Pansy asked, and Harry sighed and shook his head.  Pansy reckoned she’d never seen the Golden boy this sad, and she’d seen him cradling someone’s dead body before, so that should really say something. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's more of what he </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>do.”  Harry said softly, and Pansy grimaced.  She wasn’t sure she was mentally prepared for what he was implying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh blimey… I don’t need to hear about </span>
  <em>
    <span>that, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Potter.”  Pansy hissed, and Harry looked confused for a moment before looking slightly mortified as he shook his head at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No.  No, not that.”  Harry said and she let out a breath of relief and leaned back a little bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… well I suppose I have got some time to spare.  Alright, let's talk this out, shall we?”  Pansy asked, and Harry swallowed heavily and nodded.  In that moment Pansy had a split second where she thought about how she wasn’t mentally prepared for being an emotional support, but she pushed it away out of sheer curiosity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah um… so yesterday was Draco and my five month anniversary, and obviously we didn’t do anything big for it, it's five months, not really a milestone of any kind, you know?”  Harry said and Pansy nodded.  That made sense, never mind the fact that she’d decided to go a bit over the top every month so far for Hermione… but that could also be the excess money talking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Continue.”  Pansy said, examining her nails so as to not come off like she was paying super close attention.  Harry let out a heavy sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I-I told him I loved him, which isn’t something that I haven't’ done, I tell him I love him all the time, especially when we’re-.”  Pansy covered his mouth and grimaced again.  Merlin, does this boy have the memory of a goldfish?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I said I don’t need to hear about that, Merlin.”  Pansy shuddered.  She didn’t even want to think about Draco’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal </span>
  </em>
  <span>life, let alone his sex life.  Harry sighed and nodded, running a hand through his hair as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Well, anyways, normally he says he loves me too but last night…”  Harry said, trailing off as he chewed on his lip.  Pansy reached over and patted his shoulder lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Last night what?”  She prompted and he shrugged, looking away from her as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He turned cold out of nowhere.  Like we were cuddling in my bed and he stood up abruptly and got dressed and told me I ‘make everything so difficult’ and then stormed out.  And I just wanted to know if he mentioned anything to you?”  Harry asked, looking so hopeful that Pansy almost found it rude that she wasn’t going to tell him the truth.  But she’d decided, if she couldn’t tell Hermione she wasn’t about to tell anyone.  She knew how that had turned out with the Ginny thing and it wasn’t pleasant.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… well not </span>
  <em>
    <span>mentioned</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said carefully, and Harry glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  He said firmly, and she refused to meet his eyes.  Merlin, it shouldn’t be this hard to lie to someone that she’d hated for the majority of the time she’d known him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Yes?”  She asked and he leaned back a bit as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Last chance to tell me, I am not above making Veritaserum and slipping it in your morning tea.”  Harry threatened, and Pansy let out an amused chuckle.  Were it to be anyone else saying what he’d threatened, she might have taken it with a grain of salt but this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Harry Potter</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  He wouldn’t want to do anything more that could get him expelled, as it was already sort of a wonder that he was still in attendance here.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you are far more forceful than Hermione is… but I can’t tell you.  Just know that… Draco isn’t good for you, Potter.  He’s… he’s become someone I cannot even recognize and it's scaring me.  I don’t want you to get hurt… a-and I don’t want Hermione getting hurt either and she might get caught in the cross hairs.”  Pansy explained, and Harry’s expression softened a bit as he nodded.  Good, he understood.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  I’ll think that over.”  Harry said and Pansy chewed on her lip.  She did feel bad for withholding information about his boyfriend, but she thought it was only fair.  She’d kept so many secrets for them, to preserve their relationship, what was one more?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you mad that I can’t tell you?”  Pansy asked, and Harry shook his head with a good natured smile, which did fill Pansy with a bit of relief.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I understand.  I’ve been a keeper of secrets before, believe me… it's not very fun.” Harry admitted, and Pansy nodded, and couldn’t help thinking about what his secret could have been.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got that right.”  Pansy muttered, and she thought that was the end of the conversation, but for whatever reason, Harry wasn’t leaving.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, but I did have one last question for you.”  Harry said, and Pansy looked over at him and raised her eyebrow.  What could he possibly want to ask her if she couldn’t give him the answers he was looking for?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whats up?”  Pansy asked, flicking her hair out of her face.  Harry shifted so he was facing her head on as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was planning to invite Hermione and Ron with me over Easter, I’m heading to my Uncle Sirius’s place for the break… Did you want to come?  With you dating Hermione and all, I figured it was polite to ask.”  He said and Pansy paused because yes, she’d declined going home with Hermione, but that was mostly to avoid a one on one with her parents… if all of them were at Harry’s uncle’s… it couldn’t possibly be as bad.  But then she remembered that Hermione wanted space right now, and who knew if their relationship was going to hold up in the three weeks to come.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for the invite Potter, but I think I’m gonna decline.  Besides…. Who knows if Hermione will even be </span>
  <em>
    <span>dating </span>
  </em>
  <span>me by the time holiday comes around.”  Pansy said glumly, and Harry clicked his tongue.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fighting, are you?”  Harry asked, and Pansy wondered if it was really all that obvious.  Granted, she had said something that added enough angst to what she was feeling about her relationship that he could probably infer, but still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s a little upset with me at the moment.”  Pansy admitted, and Harry reached over and squeezed her shoulder, pausing there until she made eye contact with him.  She was surprised to see how understanding he looked, if someone was fighting with Daphne or Tracey she’d lash out at them on principle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing the two of you can’t work out, I’m sure of it.”  Harry said, rubbing her shoulder and giving her a warm smile.  Pansy returned his affections with a half smile and a squeeze on his hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Potter.  And if I get any other information on Draco, I’ll get ahold of you.”  She insisted, and Harry nodded and put his glasses back on.  It almost looked like he was trying to prep himself for the walk up to his commons.  Pansy honestly didn’t know that his boyfriend was capable of causing so much emotional turmoil in the golden boy.  They were hardly seen together to begin with, she really thought it didn’t matter that much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Thanks, Parkinson.”  Harry sighed, and stood up, straightening his uniform before he disappeared down the hall.  Pansy slumped down the ledge a bit, honestly wondering what she </span>
  <span>could’ve done differently… besides not being accidentally insensitive, that one was a little too obvious for her liking.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0044"><h2>44. Chapter 44</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was plenty that Pansy was willing to put up with, but she didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>the way that Tracey and Daphne were looking at her.  It was 8:00 in the morning, a little bit early for them to be getting on her nerves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you two looking at me like I’m some sort of wounded animal?”  Pansy sighed, finally fed up with the looks that Daphne and Tracey had been swapping all morning.  Tracey gave her a look of concern and took one hand in both of hers.  Pansy considered slapping her away, but she also wanted to know what this was all about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and Hermione are fighting, aren’t you?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She was pretty sure Hermione would have to be speaking in order for them to be fighting, this was just… pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No…. yes…. I said something stupid-.” Pansy admitted, and Daphne snorted as she took a sip of her tea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When do you not?” She joked, and Pansy pointed one finger at her, completely willing to attempt wandless magic just to shut her up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oi</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy warned, and Daphne put up her hands in defense and sighed, turning her attention back down to her food.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Daphne mumbled, and Pansy took a deep breath.  How was she meant to jam ‘I was a proper git who assumed my girlfriend was going to go behind my back and expose a secret even though she hasn’t done that to me since we’ve become better acquainted’ into a sentence that wasn’t going to garner attention from those around her?  She breathed out and decided to just speak as simply as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Basically, I said something stupid and it set her off and she said she needed time to think.”  Pansy said, and Tracey and Daphne grimaced and shared another look as Daphne swiped the apple off of Tracey’s plate</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ouch.”  She mumbled as she bit into the fruit.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and sighed because honestly, what could this be about now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why ouch?  We aren’t broken up?”  Pansy insisted and Tracey shrugged and shook her head, pushing her food around her plate a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might as well be.” Tracey mumbled and Pansy narrowed her eyes.  She really considered hexing her at the moment, but that might come across as a bit rude.  It was meant to be rude but still...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she specifically said we were </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>breaking up.” Pansy insisted, but both of the girls looked very skeptical.  Merlin, who gave them the right to be judging relationships as if either of them had ever been in a stable one?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…” Tracey murmured, and Pansy considered a retort, but also realized it probably wouldn't be taken very seriously, so she instead took a long drink out of her tea and closed her eyes for a moment.  She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually <em>drank </em>her tea, she always meant to, but it normally sat untouched.  When she opened her eyes Daphne and Tracey were again observing her with odd expressions on their faces.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Daphne asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and nodded.  She <em>felt </em>perfectly fine, nothing out of the ordinary that she could tell right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never better.  Why?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just look a little… odd.”  Daphne said, moving her hand vaguely.  Pansy raised her eyebrow and took another sip of her tea.  Is that so?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  What’s going on with you?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like my girlfriend hates me and I can’t exactly pinpoint why I don’t trust her.”  Pansy said, and covered her mouth as if she was trying to shove the words back in.  She'd only wanted to say nothing, what the hell was going on?  Daphne blinked and cleared her throat a little.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… that was a very honest response.  Um, it might be because you hated her in the past and this relationship came almost out of nowhere?”  Daphne asked, fiddling with the lip of her teacup.  Pansy let out a heavy sigh and shrugged, intending on just saying 'yeah'.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, that's just the thing.  I </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>hate her.  I thought she was… honestly really hot even before this year, sure she was a tad insufferable, but other than that she was fairly good… in every way.  And honestly, her insufferable side was part of what made her so attractive to me.”  She confessed, and okay that wasn't what she had wanted to say.  She immediately wondered why she’d said that.  She didn’t want to say any of that, it had just… come out.  Daphne and Tracey looked between each other, as if confirming something, and then both looked back at Pansy and leaned a little bit forward.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  What’s going on with Draco?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy cleared her throat, prepared to once again insist nothing was happening.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh he’s joined the Dark Lord.  Real smug about it too, asked me if I’d come back to get into my parents' good graces again, little git.”  Pansy said, and her face paled as she realized what she’d just said.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>had she just said that, it was like something was forcing her hand.  Traceys jaw clenched and her fingers dug into the table, and Pansy had never seen her look so angry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!”  Tracey asked, and Daphne caught one of her hands and brushed her lips against it softly, probably in a feeble attempt to calm the other girl down.  Pansy cleared her throat, ready to say something to clear this all up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, right?  It’s like this, okay? They disowned </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  They don’t remember me and I never want to go back even if I do miss the money.  I thought he would understand that.”  Pansy scoffed and she sighed.  That was not what she was trying to say, she wanted to say that she'd been messing around, but it was like the lie died in her mouth or something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not the part I was worried about… Draco's a death eater now.”  Tracey said and Pansy couldn't stop herself from nodding.  Merlin, normally she has more self control, this isn't like her at all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Repairing some kind of cabinet in the room of requirement.”  Pansy explained and she wanted to kick herself.  She didn't see any reason why she was suddenly sharing this information so willingly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it's what I caught him doing that night.”  Pansy said and <em>wow </em>she should honestly just charm her mouth shut at this point, its the only way to stop her from spewing everything she had in her mind out.  Daphne chewed on her lip and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.  Okay.  Um… come with us.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  I’ve got nothing else to do, you two are pretty much the only people I talk to besides Hermione and Ginny. Sometimes Luna."  Pansy said, and she grimaced again because obviously they could probably guess that but it still sounded a little sad out loud.  She'd been at this school six years and she only started making real friends outside her house this year?  Merlin, thats pathetic.  But neither of them seemed to be listening to Pansy, they were too busy scanning the crowd.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, yes, Hermione.”  Daphne mumbled, and Pansy looked over at the girl, not wanting to say much of anything, but feeling the need to let something out of her system, so she opened her mouth, and let her brain run on autopilot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you reckon she’d marry me one day if I asked?  Because I do want to be with her for quite a long time, but I also don’t feel that a rejection from her would be in my best interest.”  Pansy said and that one even shocked her.  She hadn't been thinking about marrying Hermione... had she?  Obviously over the last day or so she'd thought about how miserable she was without her but they'd only been together for a few months, that would be insane.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure she’d love that.”  Daphne said, sounding rather dismissive as she caught vision of Hermione.  She reached over and smacked Tracey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“GRANGER!”  Tracey shouted, and the Gryffindor stopped in her tracks as the two girls dragged Pansy behind them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you lot want?”  Hermione sighed, and Tracey chuckled and held a little bit tighter onto Pansy’s arm.  Was she scared that she was going to run away?  Pansy had nowhere to go right now, the grip seemed to be a bit much in her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need for the hostilities.  Parkinson’s got something she wants to tell you, isn’t that right?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy looked up into her eyes and said the first thing that came to her mind</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.”  Pansy said, like it was an automatic response, and she didn’t miss the way Hermione sort of smiled before working to make her face neutral again as she nodded.  Okay, so still mad.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that.  I love you too, but that doesn’t mean that I forgive you for keeping the Draco secret from me just because you think I’m still against you.”  Hermione said, and Pansy’s brows furrowed because for a moment she couldn’t remember what Hermione was even talking about right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco's secret?”  Pansy asked, tilting her head to the side and Hermione let out a frustrated groan and shook her head.  Fair, as she wasn't expecting a girlfriend who currently couldn't stop telling the truth.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  Don’t you remember?”  Hermione asked, glaring at her, and it was as if that glare was enough to remind her.  Of course.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… you mean the fact that Draco’s a death eater.” Pansy said, and Daphne smacked her upside the head and huffed.  The normal part of Pansy thanked her for that, she would even go so far as to ask her to just cover her mouth, stop her from talking altogether.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Voice </span>
  <em>
    <span>down </span>
  </em>
  <span>Parkinson.”  Daphne hissed.  She was right, of course Pansy knew she was being far too loud but it was like… something wanted people to know.  Hermione looked like she was moments away from passing out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  Why did you keep this from me?!” Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged.  It had seemed like the best option for everyone to just keep it to herself, it wasn’t an intentional thing to hurt her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I didn’t want you getting freaked out, or him getting expelled.  I slapped him while he was talking about it because he called you… that word…  Told him I’d never join him.” Pansy explained, and Hermione paused as she looked over at her.  Pansy could see something in her eyes, like an anger that hadn't quite been released yet.  Oh.  She was mad that he even asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that what he wanted?”  Hermione asked, her voice coming out clipped and measured, like she was doing her best to keep her cool as she spoke.  Pansy swallowed heavily as she nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione's jaw set but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking one of Pansy's hands and squeezing it gently.  Pansy half expected her to just drop it, after all they were <em>technically </em>still fighting, but Hermione held tight.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why is she acting like this?”  She asked, and Daphne and Tracey both shrugged.  Their guess was as good as Pansy's and that seemed to stress Hermione out a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s like she’s under some kind of spell.” Daphne said, and Hermione’s expression was grim within a moment.  Pansy didn't like the looks of that, so far nothing good had come out of Hermione looking grim.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or… a potion.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy cocked her head.  She should've paid better attention in potions class, she'd been slacking off a bit recently.  She could almost think of the name of the potion, but at the last moment it just kept escaping her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you on about?” Daphne asked, and Hermione took a deep breath and shot them all a look, like they should know what she was talking about, which Pansy didn't find to be fair.  Sure, they all took the same potions class but only one of them had an O, and it wasn't any of the Slytherins in the conversation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Veritaserum.  Umbridge tried to use it on Harry last year so he’d talk about Sirius, but he didn’t take it.  Did she drink anything yet today?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy wondered what everyone was so worried about.  She felt perfectly </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine </span>
  </em>
  <span>there was no reason to stress over her.  But still, Daphne sighed and shook her head as she spoke to Hermione, looking a little lost.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just her tea.”  Daphne said, and Tracey nodded, Pansy couldn’t help but see how stressed she was by this situation.  She looked over at Hermione and smiled because </span>
  <em>
    <span>somehow </span>
  </em>
  <span>even when she’s pissed or anxious or whatever unreadable emotion she’s feeling right now, she’s still so pretty.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>pretty.”  Pansy blurted out and she grimaced after saying that because what if Hermione no longer wanted to hear that?  But her stress was put at ease by the small smile that spread across Hermione's face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, love.  So are you.  Take me to the cup.”  Hermione said, and Pansy looked over at her again with a smile.  She was gorgeous, and Pansy couldn’t believe she’d spent the last 12 hours fighting with her.  If she was being honest, the 12 hours that they weren’t talking had felt like some of the longest of her life.  And she felt the urge to say this, but held back.  Daphne looked at Hermione with some confusion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  Isn’t it clear and odorless.”  Daphne asked, and Hermione sighed and nodded, rubbing the bridge of her nose.  What were they so worried about?  Pansy felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>great</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she felt free to say what was on her mind for the first time in… Merlin, she didn’t know the last time she’d felt this open.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you three talking about.”  Pansy asked, and Daphne looked a little torn, like maybe she didn’t want to tell Pansy what was going on.  She found this a little rude, as she had been completely honest up until this point.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um-.”  Hermione held up a hand to silence Daphne and looked up at Pansy, taking a deep breath before she spoke</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got this, Daphne.  Pans, did anyone say anything about maybe slipping you a potion?  Or do you know anyone who would do that?”  Hermione asked and Pansy thought for a moment and shrugged.  No one who would probably be serious about it at least. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… yesterday Potter said he was going to if I didn’t say what I knew about Draco, and I didn’t because I hadn’t told you yet and I didn’t think that was fair.”  She explained and Hermione sighed and shook her head.  Pansy didn't know what she was so stressed about, Harry wouldn't do that to another student... unless he really needed to, and he didn't need to in this scenario.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.  He might do it, Merlin knows that Draco giving him the cold shoulder has made him act a little… out of character.  I’ll be right back.  Keep her here.”  Hermione instructed Daphne and Tracey.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where else would we take her?”  Daphne sighed, and Hermione sighed and paused, turning on her heel for one moment to issue one last sentence at Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just… shut up.”  Hermione sighed and turned around.  Daphne chuckled and shook her head, holding a little tighter onto Pansy's sweater sleeve.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got a real keeper there, Parkinson.”  Daphne said, and Pansy smiled and looked after Hermione, until she disappeared back into the great hall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, don’t I?”  Pansy said dreamily, and Daphne took a deep breath, like she was about to say something but before she could get it out, someone tapped Pansy on the shoulder and cleared his throat.  Pansy stiffened immediately.  Draco.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?”  He asked and Pansy sighed and struggled a bit out of Tracey and Daphne's grip so she could turn around and look at him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco?  Why are you talking to me, I’ve told you already that I don’t want to be around you right now.”  Pansy said, and he sighed and took another step towards her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but I’m trying to apologize.”  Draco insisted and Tracey snorted and shook her head.  Honestly, Pansy didn't want to hear whatever excuse for an apology he'd cooked up, so she'd welcome either one of the two girls to jump in right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck off, Malfoy.  I’m not above going to Dumbledore about your little… arrangement.  Or maybe I should tell your prettyboy boyfriend, eh?”  Tracey snapped, and Draco looked confused.  Pansy looked over at her, and wanted to tell her to stop, but she couldn’t find the words.  Maybe she didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>them to stop.  That was probably part of the reason she didn’t tell them in the first place, she was so angry that she wanted everyone to be angry as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”  Draco asked, and Pansy heard Tracey literally </span>
  <em>
    <span>growl </span>
  </em>
  <span>next to her, which caused her to jump a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy told us all about how </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>working with the dark lord.”  Tracey snapped, taking a protective step in front of Pansy.  This wasn’t like her, normally it was Daphne doing the protecting, but she was too busy holding tight onto Pansy’s hand, keeping her in place.  And when Pansy spared Daphne a glance it was no longer a question of </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tracey had taken on her normal role.  Because it became clear that if it had been Daphne in front of Pansy then Draco would already be dead.  Draco shot a shocked glance around Tracey, right into Pansy’s eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.  Pansy, is this true?”  Draco asked, and Pansy furrowed her brows as she nodded.  What was he so mad about anyways?  It wasn’t as if he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>told </span>
  </em>
  <span>her to keep it a secret.  She could’ve been telling everyone if she’d wanted to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah they asked me and I-.”  Pansy wasn’t able to finish her sentence, as Draco had taken the time that she was looking away to pull out his wand, and he had it pointed directly at her, too quick for either Daphne or Tracey to react.  Pansy saw something in his eyes.  Anger, yes, but mostly she saw fear.  He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>afraid </span>
  </em>
  <span>of everyone finding out, and somewhere in Pansy’s slightly foggy brain she knew he would do anything to stop it from going further.  But that expression was gone a moment later.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  He said, and Pansy crumpled to the ground, the last thing she remembered was Draco standing over her.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0045"><h2>45. Chapter 45</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It felt like her body was on fire, like she’d been laying down forever.  And when she opened her eyes it felt like something had hit her over the head, so she closed them again.  The light was </span>
  <em>
    <span>far </span>
  </em>
  <span>too bright for her right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.”  Pansy groaned, stretching up a bit as she felt an ache in her spine.  What the hell had happened to her?  She couldn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember </span>
  </em>
  <span>this morning… or if it had even just been this morning.  It honestly could’ve been so much longer.  It felt like it had been days ago.  Before she could keep thinking about how long she’d been unconscious, she heard someone shifting next to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy?” Hermione asked, and Pansy saw light dancing behind her eyelids and she couldn’t help the smile on her face.  She was here, meaning she was probably not as mad as she had been before.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm?”  Pansy asked, and she heard Hermione sigh and after a moment she felt a pressure on her body and she opened one eye to see Hermione curled on top of her, tucking her face against her neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione muttered against her neck and Pansy let out a breath and wrapped her arms around Hermione’s back, running her hands over the back of her sweater softly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Hi.  So… you’re not mad anymore?”  Pansy asked quietly, almost not wanting to ask because she didn’t want Hermione to let go of her.  But, she lifted her head and raised an eyebrow, like something Pansy had said didn’t make much sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was never mad.  I was a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt, </span>
  </em>
  <span>sure, but I was never mad at you.  I’m just so glad that you’re okay.”  She whispered and Pansy let out a small chuckle.  She was glad she was okay too, although it seemed like Hermione was being a bit dramatic for her only being out for the day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m pretty glad that I’m okay too, if I’m being honest.  Might’ve put a bit of a damper on the school year if I died.”  Pansy said and Hermione reached up and swatted the side of her head while glowering down at her.  Okay, so the wrong time to talk about the fact that she probably could’ve died, noted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t joke.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy sighed and rubbed across Hermione’s shoulders.  It felt nice to have her close again.  She smelled so nice… which was an odd first thought, but it was true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know love, I’m sorry."  Pansy said.  She was starting to wonder just how long she'd been out, because Hermione was still holding her pretty tight, and something was telling her that she'd been out for far longer then she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right so… Draco's a death eater?”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy’s brows furrowed as she felt the anxiety rise in her chest.  When had Hermione found that out?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>She </span>
  </em>
  <span>certainly hadn’t said anything about it...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you know that?”  Pansy asked and Hermione gave her an odd look as she traced the features of her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You… you </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>told me.  Granted, you were under the influence of Veritaserum so…" Hermione said and Pansy nodded.  Of course that was what it was, that explained the giant mental block, it was like trying to look through an extremely foggy window, it just wasn't work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it Potter?”  Pansy asked with a slight glare and Hermione sighed and nodded, pressing a soft kiss to the side of Pansy’s neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, he didn’t think you’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>drink </span>
  </em>
  <span>it.  You don’t normally actually end up drinking your tea.”  Hermione pointed out, and Pansy opened her mouth to protest but she realized that Hermione did have a point.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's… actually pretty fair.”  Pansy sighed, and for a moment they were both silent.  Pansy wanted-no, she needed to apologize.  She felt so bad that Hermione still thought she didn’t trust her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honey… I want you to know-.”  Hermione started</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About what I said earlier-.” Pansy said at nearly the same time and they both stopped and chuckled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  Okay.  You go first.”  Hermione said and Pansy took a deep breath and nodded.  She wanted to make sure she said this correctly, because apologizing once was difficult enough, she didn’t want to do it again.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, about not trusting you.  That really wasn’t very fair.”  Pansy said quietly and Hermione was silent for a moment.  Pansy wondered if she could hear how loudly her heart was pounding.  She hoped not, it was a little bit embarrassing how nervous she was over this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re also not known for being very fair.”  Hermione said and Pansy gasped and slapped her lightly.  While that was funny, now was not the time.  She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be a good girlfriend and apologize for once, and Hermione should really appreciate that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  I’m apologizing here!”  Pansy snapped, but she couldn’t help the small smirk on her face because she’d missed this.  She’d missed the quipping back and forth, even though it hadn’t been all that long... Merlin, she was <em>obsessed</em>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then get on with it.”  Hermione said, and Pansy almost snapped back at her before seeing the small smile and realizing she was joking.  She let out a small sigh and relief and chuckled, she didn't know what she would've done had Hermione still been mad at her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was a dick, and I’m sorry.”  Pansy admitted, an Hermione hummed and tucked her face back against Pansy’s neck.  Okay so that wasn’t an acceptance of the apology… how wonderful… Pansy almost wished she was still unconscious.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  I don’t know…”  Hermione said, her voice coming out far more sing-songy then she normally did.  It was cute, even if it was a little bit out of Hermione's normal character.  Pansy could listen to her voice all day, no matter what tone she was using.  She'd literally just let her yell all day, although that sounded a little bit unhealthy.  Pansy leaned in and kissed her, feeling herself relax against Hermione's lips for just a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about now?”  Pansy asked as they pulled apart and she saw a small smirk on Hermione’s face as the Gryffindor moved to cup her cheek and raised an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Getting closer.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy grinned and pulled her back in, lingering a bit longer now, mindful of the fact that coma breath was probably like morning breath on steroids and she didn’t want to gross her out.  She pulled back and sighed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now?”  Pansy asked, and part of her hoped that Hermione would say no, but she nodded.  Damn.  Obviously she could kiss her girlfriend whenever she wanted, but she still wanted a reason.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm.  Yeah.  Yeah I’ll take it”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy rolled her eyes and pulled her into one last kiss, just enjoying the feel of her lips, the way she breathed, her little giggle… everything.  She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you two disgust me.”  Daphne’s voice rang out,  breaking them apart again.   Hermione rolled her eyes and looked behind her to see the girl walking in with a giant stack of books.  Merlin, did she have that much work, Pansy wondered.  She swore Daphne did her homework every night, it wasn’t like her to get that behind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne.  Perfect timing.  Did you bring her classwork?”  Hermione asked and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Schoolwork?  Daphne set down the large stack of books and sent Hermione a withering glare that could rival Pansy's mother.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Granger.  I’ve become you, I'm lugging around books for fun.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy was still focusing on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>giant </span>
  </em>
  <span>stack of books at the foot of her bed.  So, she was out for way longer than a night probably.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well you can fuck right off.”  Hermione snorted, and Daphne sat down and sighed, rubbing her temples.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-.”  Pansy cleared her throat to cut off the fight that could’ve started between the two girls because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>could go on for hours.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me for interrupting this... <em>interesting </em>conversation.  School work?  I thought I was only out for a few hours.”  Pansy said, her eyebrows knitted together.  She saw Daphne and Hermione share a look before Hermione took a deep breath.  This didn’t seem like it was going to be good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  No.  You’ve been out for just shy of two weeks.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy shot up for a moment.  Hermione let out a small squeak and held on tight to her so as to not fall down, which ended up not being needed as Pansy felt dizzy the second she sat up, so she had to ease herself back down in her shock.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!  How?!  I thought you said it was just Veritaserum!”  Pansy said, and her mind was reeling. That made no sense.  Hermione hushed her softly and ran her fingers through her hair.  Daphne cleared her throat and leaned forward on her elbows.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  So funny story-.”  Pansy rolled her eyes and chuckled.  Nothing good ever came out of Daphne saying those words, not once.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your stories are </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>funny when they start off like that, Daph.”  Pansy pointed out, and she felt Hermione suppress a laugh as Daphne glared at her and huffed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay fine.  Annoying fucking thing, Potter brewed the potion himself, and while it seemed to work… it… shit.  I forgot what it did.”  Daphne said and Hermione nodded and cleared her throat, sitting up a little bit.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No problem.  It actually started to attack your mind a bit, and so basically, Pomfrey’s kept you in a sort of coma for the past couple of weeks.” Hermione explained, and Pansy paused for a moment before letting out a harsh breath.  How the fuck was she supposed to respond to being told she was in a coma?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  Well.  Um...  Shit.”  Pansy said, and yeah, that was about all she had to say about that.  Of course the Golden boy probably had nothing happen to him for practically <em>poisoning </em>another goddamn student.  Hermione nodded and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit is right, today was the deadline to fix it before sending you off to St. Mungos, and she succeeded, thank Merlin.”  Hermione explained and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Two weeks.  Two <em>weeks </em>and she bet that Potter didn't get detention.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna murder Potter-.” Pansy started and Hermione shook her head and took a deep breath.  Was she seriously trying to say Pansy shouldn't be mad at him for this?  He'd put her in a goddamn <em>coma</em>, accident or not, and that should be something that has consequences.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s here most days, waiting for you to wake up.”  Hermione explained and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  It didn't matter if he felt guilty for doing it, what mattered was he shouldn't have even <em>thought </em>of doing it in the first place, or if he did he still shouldn't have acted on it, its called self control.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t he be off with his precious bad boy?”  Pansy said, her voice coming out a little harsher then intended.  Hermione winced and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, he dumped Draco… rather publicly once I got around to telling him last week.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy raised an eyebrow, a little impressed with Potter's bravery to do that in public.  Draco wasn't above hexing people when they were being <em>nice</em>.  She could only imagine when they were doing something he didn't want.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.  Why’d it take a week?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and looked away from her.  Pansy couldn't help but wonder what could be so important that she couldn't make eye contact.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>may </span>
  </em>
  <span>have refused to talk to him until Monday because he put my girlfriend in a magic induced coma.”  Hermione explained and Pansy let out a surprised chuckle.  She'd assumed there had been some sort of consequence but that seemed a bit harsh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione!  You didn’t have to do that!” Pansy said, and Hermione gave her a look and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was mad at him!  If you hadn’t woken up you would’ve been stuck thinking I was mad at you.”  She insisted and Pansy supposed that was fair.  Although an odd thought came into her mind at that moment and she smiled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I probably would’ve become a Hogwarts ghost, darling.”  Pansy said and Hermione grimaced and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that would’ve been… interesting.”  Hermione said, and Pansy could tell that meant that she didn't love idea, but that didn't stop her from making one more joke about it before she finally shut up about it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could watch you change.”  She whispered with a smirk and Hermione smacked her upside the head and huffed.  Okay, that was fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s creepy.”  Hermione insisted and Pansy shrugged and laid her head back down, looking up at the ceiling as she ran little patterns across Hermione's back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sue me, I just woke up.”  She sighed and Daphne cleared her throat, causing Pansy to jump just a bit because she'd almost forgotten that Daphne was even over there.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  It’s actually been pretty stressful.”  Daphne admitted and Pansy raised an eyebrow and chuckled.  That was completely unlike Daphne to admit, it must've actually been rather difficult for her to say that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You?  Worried about </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Pansy joked and Daphne feigned looking taken aback and dramatically shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.”  Daphne said, her voice coming out very aloof.  Pansy rolled her eyes and chuckled, knowing that probably meant that she had been super worried, but Pansy didn’t want to push it right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s lying.  She cried every night.”  Tracey sighed as she collapsed into the seat right next to Daphne.  Pansy let out a loud bark of a laugh and shook her head.  Of course Daphne wouldn’t admit that, it was way out of her comfort zone, Pansy knew that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No I didn’t!”  Daphne hissed and Tracey shook her head and leaned forward, lowering her voice to fake a whisper.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>did.”  Tracey whispered, and Daphne smacked her arm lightly and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll get you back for that one, Davis.” Daphne hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose and Tracey let out a small chuckle and rubbed the other girl's upper back softly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure you will.” Tracey said with a smirk, and the two continued to bicker between the two of them as Pansy thought about what had really happened.  Harry had put her in a coma, just for not telling him a secret.  Sure, it was about his boyfriend at the time, but that seemed like it was a bit dramatic, and that was coming from <em>her</em>.  She knew what she had to do in that moment, even if it might get her expelled.  She was going to slap Harry Potter.  Pansy gently moved Hermione off of her and got to her feet, ignoring the dizziness that came from standing too much.  Hermione cleared her throat and held her hand to hold her back for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, what are you doing…. I don’t know if you should be standing yet-.”  Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  She wasn’t going to be talked out of this right now, she needed to let Harry know that he wasn’t getting away with this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna go find that bastard Potter and set him straight.”  Pansy said through clenched teeth and she stormed towards the door, but before she could leave she felt a light hand on her back and she knew it was Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.” Hermione started, and Pansy shook her head.  She’d lost two weeks of her life, suffice to say Harry had earned at least a stern talking to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t stop me.”  Pansy said, looking forward because she knew one look at Hermione right now would stop her, if she asked, but to her surprise that wasn’t the next thing out of her mouth.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna.  I’m coming with you.”  Hermione said and Pansy paused for a moment, but let her take her hand and pulled her out the door.  They’d gone down about seven corridors before Pansy caught sight of the messy hair and Gryffindor scarf.  There’s the bastard.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“POTTER!”  Pansy shouted, and Harry stopped in his tracks and had the audacity to smile at her as he pushed his hair out of his eyes.  Pansy wanted to break his stupid fucking glasses in half as she came to a stop right in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!  Thank Merlin you’re awake-.”  Harry didn’t get to finish his sentence before Pansy sent a bruising slap across his face.  Apparently this surprised him, because all he could was reach up and touch the spot as Pansy glared at him head on.  She wanted to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are the biggest </span>
  <em>
    <span>douchebag </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ve ever met.  Veritaserum?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Really</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  You picked a potion you couldn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>brew </span>
  </em>
  <span>correctly?” Pansy hissed and Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair I didn’t think you’d go for your tea that morning!  I just wanted to have a fallback in case you chose to never tell the truth.”  Harry explained and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Sure, it made sense but that didn’t make it okay.  She had needed time to decide if she wanted to actually tell anyone about Draco.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know but still… there are better ways to go about it, Potter.” Pansy sighed and Harry was silent for a moment, as if it was difficult for him to think of what to say.  Seriously, apologizing was hard but it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>hard.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m…. sorry.”  Harry finally spat out, and Pansy chuckled and rolled her eyes, squeezing Hermione’s eyes.   She knew she should accept it, for Hermione’s sake, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that right now.  He deserved some of her anger.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gonna take a whole lot more than that.”  Pansy muttered, and she started to walk away, hearing Harry’s footsteps behind her.  She’d apologize to Hermione later for slapping her best friend across the face, she decided.  Even if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>deserved it, doing it in front of Hermione was a little rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!”  Harry called after her and Pansy huffed and turned around, crossing her arms.  She was ready to tell him to fuck off no matter what he said, because for once Harry Potter didn’t get what he wanted. He obviously didn’t get what he wanted when his parents got murdered right in front of him, but still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What.”  Pansy snapped and Harry took a deep breath and put a hand on her shoulder.  She slapped it down, and Hermione gave her a warning look.  She didn’t even hit him all that </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard</span>
  </em>
  <span>, honestly.  She could've done so much worse to him and she wouldn't have even felt bad for it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come to Sirus’s with us.  I promise that’ll make it up to you.”  Harry said and Pansy scoffed.  How the hell was a weekend with a disowned pureblood and his ward supposed to make Pansy feel any better?  The only good thing about that would be spending time with Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's in it for me?”  Pansy asked, crossing her arms, and Harry thought for a moment before he decided on what he wanted to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and Hermione get a private room.”  Harry said, and Pansy grinned at this and nodded.  That was the perfect thing to do to make her forgive him.  She didn’t completely forgive him yet, that was certainly a good start though.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in.”  Pansy said, and she noted the light blush on Hermione’s cheeks at the promptness of her response, and she lightly squeezed her hand.  It was going to be a fun break, even if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to have to spend a concentrated amount of time with Harry and Ron… but she supposed she could try and behave.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Quite the quick answer you had there, Parkinson.”  Harry said, giving her a knowing look and Pansy shrugged.  She had absolutely no shame about wanting to spend some private time with Hermione, they hardly had any here.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A week sharing a room with a beautiful woman?  That's pretty convincing.”  Pansy said with a smirk and she leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Hermione’s smiling lips.  This sweet moment was interrupted by Daphne scoffing next to her, causing her to jump.  She seriously considered just buying her a bell because it should be illegal to walk that quietly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  You share a room with </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>beautiful women already!” Daphne reminded her, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Did she think her friends were hot?  Of course, it would be a little rude if she didn’t… but it had apparently been a while since she’d messed with them, so why not have a little fun?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean… you two are… mediocre, I suppose.”  Pansy said with a smirk and Tracey swatted her arm lightly and Pansy winced and rubbed the spot.  Why the hell did that hurt?  It almost made her feel a bit weak.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna put you back in that fucking coma I swear to-.”  Daphne started and Pansy rolled her eyes and cut her off.  She refused to admit that fact that she’d actually ended up missing her attitude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck with that.”  Pansy chuckled and Daphne stomped on her foot, causing her to cry out.  Wow, she really thought Daphne would be nice to her because she’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>woken up from a magically induced coma… she had apparently put </span>
  <em>
    <span>far </span>
  </em>
  <span>too much trust in her friend.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0046"><h2>46. Chapter 46</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pansy felt like she was going to throw up.  Or pass out.  Something was going to happen that was going to end badly.  She felt like the second she arrived at Harry’s uncle’s house she was going to be analyzed and hated.  She must’ve been pretty obvious with her nervousness, because Hermione squeezed her hand lightly and gave her a knowing look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop fussing, honestly.  What are you so worried about?”  Hermione asked, bringing the back of Pansy’s hand to her lips to leave a light kiss there, so she could do her best to calm Pansy’s nerves.  It didn’t work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if Harry’s uncle hates me?  I’m a Slytherin, I’m a pureblood-.”  Harry sighed and held up his hand to silence Pansy.  That’s rather rude, he was so soon to forget that he’d almost killed her last week, she could still bring that up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson.  Calm down.  He’s not going to hate you, and he already knows your story, about how you got disowned and all that.”  Harry insisted, and Pansy’s eyebrow shot up.  Really?  Why the hell had he told him that?  When did that even fucking come up, thats not really something that’s casual conversation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Potter that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>private</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said through clenched teeth, and she was surprised by how angry she felt.  It actually wasn’t private, the news was pretty widespread at this point.  She realized she was probably just mad about last week.  Harry sighed and nodded, looking a little bit sorry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  Well, I told him.  Remus too.” Harry said, and Pansy cleared her throat.  He couldn’t be referring to...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus as in… as in Remus Lupin?  That Defense teacher from third year?”  Pansy asked, her eyebrows crinkling in confusion.  Harry nodded and looked out the window, resting his cheek on his hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  Harry said, and Pansy scoffed and pulled a knee to her chest and shrugged.  She didn’t see what an old teacher had to do with this week.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hells he got to do with anything?” Pansy asked, and Harry pressed his lips together in a thin line, clearly thinking of how to phrase his next sentence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s Sirius’s…. Partner.”  Harry said carefully and Pansy shook her head.  It’s not hard to say boyfriend, or fiance or husband or whatever.  Pansy heard a snicker and looked over at where Ron was perched next to Harry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Harry… they’re gay, you can say boyfriend.”  He said, and Pansy nodded, and Hermione sighed heavily and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ronald.  I’m bi.”  Hermione reminded him, and Ron sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose as he nodded.  Pansy didn’t think he was being malicious, he was probably just confused by this stuff.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, sorry.  I’m working on it, but all the words… they just get so confusing, you know?” Ron asked, and Hermione looked at him like he was crazy, and shared that look with Harry.  It was at that moment that Pansy really realized Ron was the only straight person in the compartment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny is </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>bi.”  Hermione said, her voice a deadpan.  Pansy couldn’t help but chuckle because yeah, he should’ve at least known what both his sister </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>his ex identify as, it wasn’t difficult.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I don’t talk to my sister about what she likes… you know.”  Ron said vaguely, looking a little bit ill, and Pansy chuckled and shared a look with Hermione, who shrugged.  Was Ron really not able to say the word sex?  Or even in a relationship?  It wasn’t like he was speculating on anything specific, just using the right term for his sister’s sexuality.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In bed?”  Pansy offered, and Ron grimaced and looked away, shaking his head with a sigh before he looked back at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh for fucks sake, Parkinson, I never need to hear those words in relation to my sister </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>again.”  Ron groaned, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  It was a little humorous, that Ron was so repressed.  So Pansy thought she’d push it just a little bit further, and she leaned forward with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Calm down, Ron.  Everyone does it.”  Pansy teased, and instead of him responding, Ron just blinked at her in surprise, like what she had said had been in a foreign language.  When she glanced around, she realized both Hermione and Harry were looking at her like that too.  What the fuck is this about?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh…”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and sighed.  Is this what it's like to deal with a bunch of Gryffindors all the time?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is everyone looking at me so fucking weird for?”  Pansy asked, and Harry cleared his throat and leaned forward, folding his hands together.  This felt like an intervention, but that didn’t make sense… for once she’d done nothing intervention worthy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just called Ron… Ron.”  Harry pointed out and Pansy shrugged.  She didn’t see the big deal with that, after all they were working on that whole ‘turning over a new leaf’ thing, and she’d called him Ron before, she was sure of it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?  That’s his name isn’t it?”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione nodded and ran her fingers through her hair as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but it's normally Weasley.”  She pointed out, and Pansy shrugged again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, today its Ron.  And Harry is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Potter  </span>
  </em>
  <span>because he decided to slip me a potion like a total </span>
  <em>
    <span>jackass</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She said, narrowing her eyes at Harry.  He gasped and rolled his eyes.  Oh yes, because this is something small that he can just brush off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I apologized!” Harry sputtered.  Pansy scoffed and crossed her arms, looking away from him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t excuse it.” Pansy muttered, and Harry sighed and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” He muttered.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!”  Pansy jumped a little bit and glared at where Daphne was standing in the doorway of the compartment.  Yeah, she’s gonna buy her a bell for sure, this has been one too many times of scaring her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne to what do we owe the… </span>
  <em>
    <span>pleasure</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, the distaste clear in her voice.  It honestly wasn’t clear if the distaste was in jest, because she did smile at the end.  Daphne chuckled and leaned against the doorway of the compartment, examining her fingernails as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t look too happy to see me Granger.  Weasley.  Potter.  Mind if I borrow Pansy for a moment?  She and I have to um… do something.”  She said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow as Daphne jutted her chin behind her.  Oh right, that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh right.”  Pansy said, and she went to stand up, but was promptly pulled back down into her seat by Hermione’s hand on the back of her collar.  Ouch.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously?  You two couldn’t have gotten that out of the way in your dorms?” Hermione groaned, and Daphne shook her head and sighed.  Honestly, they had meant to smoke before they left but they had run out of time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Granger.  C’mon.  I’m not gonna see her for a week, give me a break.  It’ll take… at most 10 minutes, and we still have a couple of hours left in the ride.” Daphne said, and she pulled the most unrealistic pout that Pansy had ever seen, and it made her feel a little nauseous.  Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.  Fine.  But when you bring her back I’m spraying </span>
  <em>
    <span>both </span>
  </em>
  <span>of you.”  Hermione insisted and Daphne chuckled and then paused, shrugging.  Pansy wondered if she was honestly going to fight this, it wasn’t like she was supposed to go home smelling like weed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, I’ll take it.  My parents would skin me alive if I came home smelling like weed.”  Daphne said, and Pansy nodded and cleared her throat.  She was done with this conversation, she just wanted to go.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright!  Enough chit chat, lets go.”  Pansy said, leaning over to leave a light kiss on Hermione’s cheek before she stood up and took Daphne’s outstretched hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on.” Pansy and Daphne froze and turned around, surprised to see Ron standing up behind them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Ronald?”  Pansy asked, and Ron cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, shifting back and forth on each foot for a moment before he actually spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um…” Ron stuttered and stopped talking, like he wasn’t sure how to phrase his next sentence.  It was probably just a question, so Pansy thought he should probably start with that one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ron Weasley.”  Daphne said, and Ron stood rigid and cleared his throat, not looking down at her eyes.  Pansy wondered what was so terrifying about looking at Daphne fucking Greengrass, she wasn’t that intimidating.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  Ron asked and she took a step forward and looked up at him.  Pansy always forgot that Daphne was shorter than her, which made her far shorter than Weasley.  The height difference was a little funny.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to try smoking?”  She asked with a smirk, and Ron swallowed heavily and tried to ignore the slightly judgemental look coming from Hermione, which Pansy found amusing.  She didn’t judge Pansy, but she was going to judge her ex… hilarious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I mean I’ve heard good things about it and-.”  Pansy rolled her eyes and held up a hand to silence him.  Merlin, it was a yes or no answer, he didn’t need to explain his stance on the whole thing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon then, Weasley.  Let's get a move on.”  Pansy sighed, grabbing the arm of his sweater and tugging him along.  Ron cleared his throat and sighed, looking behind him like he wanted to run back to the compartment.  Pansy wasn’t going to let go of his sleeve unless he asked.  It wasn’t like she was going to force this on him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think you two would say yes.”  Ron admitted, and Daphne raised an eyebrow and sighed, turning around to look at him as they slowed to a stop in front of the compartment.  Pansy wondered if she should just move Daphne an inch to the left so she could get inside, but she decided that was probably a bit rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well it's not like you’re asking one of us to marry you, you just want to,... get valuable life experience.  Right?”  She asked, raising an eyebrow and Ron’s ears turned a bit red at that comparison and nodded, scuffing his foot on the ground.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Ron said, and Daphne grinned, and nodded, looking rather pleased.  Pansy did not appreciate the fact that they were getting along, it sat wrong with her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very good.  Come on in.”  Daphne said, holding the door to the compartment open.  Tracey slowly set down her textbook and looked up at the two girls, not yet noticing the redhead behind them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank Merlin you found-What is Weasel doing here?”  Tracey asked, narrowing her eyes, and Ron took a step back into the hallway, or tried to, but Pansy held tight on his sleeve.  No way he was running back to Hermione to say they were being mean when they hadn’t even done anything.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Down, Tracey.  I invited him, he was curious about it.”  Daphne chuckled as she laid down on the bench next to her and rested her head in her lap.  Pansy didn’t miss the way that Tracey paused for just a moment before she ran her fingers through Daphne’s hair.  Hm.  That might be something she should talk to Tracey about later.  After a moment, Tracey cleared her throat and looked up at Ron.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re saying you’ve never…”  Tracey trailed off and Ron rocked on his heels and let out a long breath as he shook his head.  In this light, Pansy could admit he did seem like the most innocent of his siblings, or at least the one least likely to do something that would piss off Molly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.” Ron said and Tracey grinned and nodded as she finished rolling and held out her hand for Daphne to give her a lighter.  She dug in her pockets and shrugged, and Pansy rolled her eyes and tossed hers over to Tracey.  She wasn’t anticipating needing it, but Daphne tended to leave hers behind so she’d decided better safe than sorry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wicked.  I know for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fact </span>
  </em>
  <span>your little sister has.”  Tracey said before taking a long drag off the joint and passing it to Daphne so she could do the same.  Ron snorted and shook his head, as if he didn’t believe that for a moment.  Was he serious?  Ginny was dating </span>
  <em>
    <span>Luna Lovegood</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and if that girl didn’t say stoner, Pansy wasn’t sure who did.  Honestly, Hermione had created a spray </span>
  <em>
    <span>for </span>
  </em>
  <span>Luna’s weed consumption.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?! Come off it, no she hasn’t.”  Ron said in disbelief, and Tracey chuckled and shook her head, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the window as she exhaled and started to speak.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Considering I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>bought </span>
  </em>
  <span>from her girlfriend, I’m gonna guess she does.”  Tracey said, so matter of factly that it seemed a bit foolhardy to try and argue with her, at least in Pansy’s opinion, and Ron seemed to agree because he nodded and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fair point.  Luna’s always been a bit… off.”  Ron said with a grimace, and Pansy narrowed her eyes and smacked the back of his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  Watch it, that's my friend you’re talking about.” Pansy warned, and Ron grimaced and rubbed the back of his head.  Please, she hadn’t even hit him all that hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no!  I didn’t mean it in a bad way, I just meant-.”  She cut him off with a chuckle and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, Weasley.  I was just giving you shit… mostly.  Just watch your phrasing and I won’t have to kick your ass.” Pansy warned him, and Ron held up his hands in defense and sighed, taking the joint from Pansy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay.  Fine… how do I do this?” Ron asked, holding it out at an arm's length.  Pansy shrugged and sighed, examining her nails... this wasn't a difficult concept to figure out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just… do it.”  Pansy muttered, and Ron snorted and shook his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Parkinson.  <em>So </em>descriptive.”  Ron joked.  Merlin, he could be a bit insufferable still.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh sod off!”  Pansy sighed, shoving him lightly<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Both of you, shut up.  Weasley, over here.”  Daphne said<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…” Ron said, and he looked up at her.  Pansy thought it was endearing in a way, how slightly clueless he was.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here, hand it to me.”  She said, swiping it from Ron's hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine…”. He sighed, and she cleared her throat and looked him in the eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you inhale.”  Daphne said, and Ron nodded.  This could take a while, thought Pansy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  He said, and Pansy drummed her fingers on her thighs, looking out the window.  Wow, six years of taking this train ride, and she’d never really noticed just how beautiful the scenery can really be.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold.” Daphne instructed, doing as she said, and Ron observed her closely.  Merlin, Pansy swore she’d never seen him spend even half as much of his focus trying to figure out things that were happening in class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Release.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it…”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, there you go.” Daphne handed it to him and he looked a little unsure as he took a drag.  His face turned red and he coughed through his exhale.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thats… strong.”  He wheezed, and Pansy sighed and leaned up, lightly pounding on his back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You barely got any, just breathe through it.”  Pansy insisted, and Ron opened his eyes and looked around at them, still wheezing a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You guys do this a lot?”  He rasped, and Tracey sighed and nodded, opening one eye before she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, roughly… three times a week?”  She said as Daphne laid her head back down on her lap.  Ron swallowed heavily and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin.”  He sighed</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It helps with the crippling reality of my life.”  Pansy said, and Daphne let out a chuckle and turned her head so she was looking at Pansy, still not sitting herself up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  You know what you’re just </span>
  <em>
    <span>great </span>
  </em>
  <span>at Parkinson?” Daphne asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and took another drag off the joint.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Pansy asked<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bringing the mood down.  Seriously, Pans.”  Daphne chuckled, and Pansy rolled her eyes and blew out her drag.  She could easily just point out all the ways that Daphne dragged them all down sometimes, but she decided she was above that tonight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well sue me, this year’s kinda sucked.”  Pansy muttered, and she heard Ron chuckle next to her and saw him nod a little.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Kind of?  It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>sucked.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  He said, emphasising the last word.  Pansy didn’t think he was wrong, she just didn’t know what was so bad about the year, and apparently Daphne and Tracey were thinking the same thing as she saw them exchange a look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Oh?  And what’s so bad about your year, Weasley?”  Tracey asked with a raised eyebrow and he let out a heavy sigh before he started talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got dumped!  And then my ex girlfriend started dating the one person who I thought she’d never date.”  Ron said, jerking his head towards Pansy.  She took slight offense to this because that meant she was behind Draco… and Crabbe… and Goyle in his head for the likeliness of a relationship with Hermione Granger.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?  You put </span>
  <em>
    <span>Draco</span>
  </em>
  <span> above me?”  Pansy asked, and Ron nodded.  Rude, at least she’d never called Hermione a mudblood… that she could remember… she was like 95% certain she hadn’t.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, I thought she was straight… and didn’t know he was a Deatheater.”  Ron explained, and Pansy groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose.  Why did everyone suddenly know about that?  She supposed Harry had probably told him, they were best friends after all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, is there anyone who doesn’t know about that now?”  She sighed and Ron shook his head.  Well, that's comforting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Ron said, and Pansy did have to let out a slight chuckle at how sure he sounded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well.  How terrific.”  Pansy said in a flat voice, and she saw Ron lean his head back on the wall and relax a bit, almost as if he was going to go to sleep.  This wasn’t normally the strain for that, but she supposed she didn’t know how it was going to react with him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weasley, you okay?”  Daphne asked and Ron looked over at her and stretched as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um yeah, just a little bit tired.” Ron said, sounding just a little out of it as he yawned.  Pansy supposed the first time could take something out of him, but she doubted it would be that quickly, it was probably a slight placebo.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lets get Weasley back to your compartment.”  Daphne said, pulling herself up off the bench slowly and stretching to her full height.  Pansy didn’t really feel like moving right now, but she knew they had to go back.  She’d promised Hermione.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… yeah you’re right.”  Pansy sighed, and stood up.  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to deal with the slight drama that would’ve come from this if Ron came back high… even if it would have probably made the ride far more interesting.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0047"><h2>47. Chapter 47</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The first thing Pansy noticed when she woke up was that it smelled different from her dorm.  It smelled like tobacco and sugar and… Hermione.  That’s right.  Pansy let out a long breath and turned onto her back, splaying an arm over her eyes to block out the morning sun.  This didn’t aid her in going back to sleep, because she could feel her girlfriend staring at her, so she dropped the arm and sighed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmm… you’re staring, ‘Mione.  See something you like?”  Pansy murmured, and Hermione chuckled and leaned in, leaving a light kiss on the side of her neck.  Pansy felt a smile spread across her face as she opened her eyes to see a picture of beauty.  It wasn’t fair, like obviously Hermione was always so beautiful… there was just something about her in the morning.  The raspy voice, messy hair, still slightly sleepy eyes… it always managed to take Pansy’s breath away</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up…. Honestly, what did you expect?  For once we don’t have to rush out.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy felt her smile grow bigger at that.  They didn’t have to rush, they could take all day if they wanted to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…”  Pansy said quietly, and Hermione rolled on top of her and sat up for a moment with a cocky look on her face.  Or maybe it was just happy, Pansy couldn’t tell, it was too early.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which means I can truly enjoy the view.”  Hermione said, smiling down at her, and Pansy rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress her smile.  If this was what it was like to wake up next to Hermione on a lazy morning, she couldn’t wait for the future… given they have one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re-.”  Pansy started, and she just trailed off looking at her smile, which caused Hermione to raise an eyebrow and let out a nervous laugh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Romantic?”  Hermione tried, and Pansy chuckled tiredly and tucked a lock of Hermione’s hair behind her ear.  She almost just agreed, because it was damn near impossible to argue with someone like her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was going to say adorable, but that works too.  Come here.”  Pansy said, pulling her close to her chest.  Hermione immediately tucked her head in and chuckled a little bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your heartbeats going kind of fast there.”  She pointed out and Pansy shrugged.  Hermione had a way of just making her heart </span>
  <em>
    <span>pound </span>
  </em>
  <span>no matter what they were doing.  It was like a special talent or something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well… it always does that around you.”  Pansy murmured and Hermione smiled up at her and pressed a kiss to her lips, quick and sweet before resting her head down again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s sweet.  Possibly alarming, but mostly sweet.”  Hermione sighed and Pansy raised an eyebrow as she traced patterns into the other girl’s back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is that possibly alarming?”   Pansy asked, a little bit nervous for her girlfriend's response.  She felt Hermione shrug and sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just don’t want you having a heart attack.”  She said and Pansy chuckled and sat up just a bit, prompting Hermione to look at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heart attack?”  She asked, and Hermione nodded and looked her in the eyes as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  You know… when the heart stops…”  Hermione trailed off and Pansy swallowed heavily.  Well, that was a pleasant thought for the morning time, now wasn’t it?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  That doesn’t sound… too good.”  Pansy admitted and Hermione nodded, tracing her fingers across Pansy’s jaw </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not.”  Hermione sighed, and they laid in silence for a few moments, Hermione’s hands wandering up and down Pansy’s abdomen.  She felt her breathing quicken a little bit and she glanced over at Hermione.  Worth a shot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So if we aren’t going out there yet-.” Pansy whispered, and her voice was quickly cut off by Hermione swinging over her because </span>
  <em>
    <span>honestly </span>
  </em>
  <span>how was she meant to keep talking when Hermione managed to make herself always look so appealing.  Pansy went to sit up a bit, but she was eased back on the bed, Hermione grinning down at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t.” She insisted, and Pansy swallowed heavily as she nodded, her composure all but lost for a moment as she struggled to keep her cool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Pansy chuckled lazily, tracing a light pattern up Hermione's abdomen as she stared in appreciation.  Perfection was the only word she could think of to describe it, the way that Hermione's body looked, how soft her skin was beneath her fingertips, the stretch marks… everything.  It was overwhelming.  Hermione rolled her eyes and leaned back down, pressing a string of light kisses down Pansy’s neck, causing the Slytherin’ s breath to catch in her throat as she arched to the side to give her a better angle.  Hermione shifted a little bit lower as Pansy’s hands slid around her waist and… it was at that exact moment that she remembered there was no lock on the door, because Harry came bursting through, barely giving the girls enough time to cover up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey you two, good morning and-Oh Merlin.”  Harry groaned, covering his eyes dramatically as he turned his back to them.  Pansy found this a bit dramatic, they were both fully covered by the blanket, but apparently not enough in Hemrione’s opinion because she yanked it a bit higher up to both of their shoulders.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you expect, Potter?” Pansy asked, and he let out a huff and glanced nervously over his shoulder before turning around and gesturing at them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe some </span>
  <em>
    <span>clothes</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  He sighed, and Hermione cleared her throat and sat up a bit, holding the blanket close to her chest.  Pansy glanced over at her and saw the set jaw and look of frustration and was quite glad to not be on the receiving end of that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were sleeping!”  Hermione insisted, and this made Pansy snort.  Even Harry isn’t naive enough to believe that lie, they’d obviously been awake for a bit, it was right of him to jump to that conclusion so quickly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>sleeping.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy murmured, which earned her an elbow to the side from a slightly annoyed Hermione.  She yelped and rubbed the tender spot, shooting her girlfriend a slight glare.  That had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>funny, </span>
  </em>
  <span>where had her sense of humor gone?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy. </span>
  </em>
  <span> Not the time.”  Hermione said through clenched teeth, and Pansy rolled her eyes and rested back flat against the bed.  Potter, apparently, hadn’t taken any notice to their little conversation because he was now running a hand through his hair and pacing, like seeing this had scarred him deeply.  He </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one who had promised they would share a room, he really did this to himself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah but-.”  Hermione held up a hand to silence him and gave him one warning shake of her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry, I beg you to not ask questions that you don’t want the answer to.”  She sighed, and Harry’s lips formed a thin line as he grimaced and nodded.  Merlin, was he really that disgusted by the thought of… actually, yeah… Pansy could see why that was so </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.  Anyways, there's breakfast, and if you’re not out there in ten minutes I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>send in Tonks.”  Harry warned.  Pansy wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean and if she should honestly be concerned about a threat of that.  With a name like ‘Tonks’, she doesn’t seem all that threatening.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.  Tonks is here?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She had no idea who they were referring to, but Hermione seemed rather excited at this.  Harry nodded and sighed, crossing his arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  You’re surprised?”  Harry asked, and Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.  Merlin, was </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the Gryffindor house this fucking dramatic in the mornings?  And she’d thought Daphne and Tracey were bad.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t pretend to know what's going on here.”  She pointed out and Harry sighed and nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose as if seeing this this morning was some </span>
  <em>
    <span>huge </span>
  </em>
  <span>inconvenience.  Honestly, in Pansy’s opinion he could’ve seen so much worse.  Especially if he’d interrupted them just a couple minutes later.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Just… hurry.”  Harry sighed and left, shutting the door behind him.  Well, that was pleasant.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well he’s certainly… cheery in the mornings.”  Pansy grumbled as she pulled on Hermione’s sweater and flattened her hair down a bit.  She didn’t see the point in getting all made up, she’d come to be more comfortable around Hermione.  Hermione sighed and sat down next to her, reaching over to hand her a pair of pants.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give him a break, Pans.  It's only been a couple weeks since he and Draco ended things.”  She reminded her.  Right.  Pansy forgot that in a way she’d been responsible for the demise of Harry’s relationship, granted, she didn’t do it on purpose, but she supposed she could understand his annoyance.  But still...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but he’s got no business taking that out on us, love.”  Pansy reminded her, and Hermione shrugged and pulled her hair from the collar of her shirt.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s sad.  You would be too.”  Hermione pointed out, and there was no arguing that.  Pansy didn’t know what she’d do if she and Hermione broke up and honestly… she was pretty sure that was the most terrifying thought she’d had all day.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I’d be devastated, but that doesn’t excuse it.”  Pansy said, so casually that it caught Hermione off guard from the look of it and the girl stumbled back onto the bed for just a moment before getting her footing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy raised her eyebrow, wanting to hear exactly what she was so surprised about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really what, love?”  Pansy asked as she checked her face again in the mirror.  She looked put together enough, and that's when her eye caught the mark on her neck and she grimaced.  Again?  Merlin, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to work on placement.  She was shaken from her thoughts when Hermione came up and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist from behind, resting her head between Pansy’s shoulder blades.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d be devastated if we were over?”  Hermione asked and Pansy chuckled and nodded.  That shouldn’t have been surprising.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I thought that was pretty clear?”  She asked and Hermione sighed and nodded, pulling herself off Pansy’s back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well yes, but hearing you say it is-.”  Pansy cut her off with a quick kiss and smiled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lovely?”  She asked and Hermione opened her mouth and then closed it, and simply nodded as she wrapped her arms around the back of Pansy’s neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... In a way, yes.”  Hermione sighed, and leaned up to press another kiss to Pansy’s lips, holding her longer this time, and Pansy let out a small sigh against her lips.  If they started this right now, they wouldn’t be leaving this room for at least another hour, and Pansy thought that might raise some eyebrows, so she separated them just a bit and took a deep breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… well… are you ready?”  Pansy asked, a little out of breath, and she caught that Hermione was still staring at her lips as she nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Lets go.”  She murmured, and Pansy humored her with one last kiss before taking her hand and letting Hermione lead her downstairs.  The conversation quieted as the two of them entered the room and Pansy could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>someone staring at her neck, and she was able to figure out it was Ron.  She considered a hex, but it didn’t feel right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice of you two to finally join us.” Ron said, and it took Pansy all of three seconds to clock the smirk on his face before she smacked him upside the head.  Not hard enough to warrant the elbow in the ribs that Hermione delivered, but still hard enough to shut him up for the time being.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can it, Weasley.”  She said through a tight smile as she surveyed the table.  She recognized Professor Lupin, and she was assuming the black haired gentleman was probably Sirius… last night had been such a blur that she hadn’t ended up meeting him… which would make the pink haired woman Tonks… probably.  Ron burst through her thoughts with a slight whine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  I was actually being nice, you know…”  Ron groaned, and Pansy glared at him, but couldn’t help her small smirk.  The boy was growing on her, she had to give him that much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>you were.”  Pansy sighed and before the two could actually get in an argument a black haired man stood up and walked swiftly over to him.  Of course Pansy recognized him from the papers, Sirius Black had been a wanted criminal… but he seemed so much more put together now, so much calmer, that it felt wrong to compare him to the images she’d seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ahem.  I didn’t get the chance to properly introduce myself before you two turned in last night.  Sirius Black.”  He said, and held out his hand for her to shake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy Parkinson.  Charmed.”  Pansy said, shaking the man’s hand.  He smiled in a way that made the sides of his eyes crinkle, in a way she didn’t see very often in someone who’d been to Azkabahn and back again.  He leaned against the wall and cleared his throat after a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson… now I asked Harry and he had no idea, any relation to-.”  Pansy chuckled and nodded.  She knew he was going to ask about her parents when he asked that, even though Potter had </span>
  <em>
    <span>apparently </span>
  </em>
  <span>told them everything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we’re talking strictly legally, yes.  But they’ve since disowned me.”  Pansy explained, and she saw the slight gloom crowd the man’s eyes as he nodded at this, taking a sip from his cup before he spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know.  We’ve got that much in common, dear.”  He sighed, and Pansy raised her eyebrow, but before she could question him further she felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned around, grimacing a little.  She’d been a proper git in Professor Lupin’s defense class and she knew it, so she found it quite surprising to see him smiling down at her.  It almost felt like a trap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Parkinson.  Lovely to see that you’re well.”  Professor Lupin said, and Pansy cleared her throat and forced a small smile, and a slight nod as all the memories of missed assignments and mocking his boggart came back to her.  When she’d looked at her boggart, she’d been shocked to just see herself, standing in front of her… she didn’t know what would’ve happened next because from what she could remember she’d cast riddikulus so fast that it was almost impressive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Professor Lupin.”  She said, her voice coming out a little higher than intended when it cracked over his name.  But he simply smiled again and chuckled, shaking his head at her.  She felt Hermione give her a reassuring squeeze on her hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh please!  I haven’t been a professor in three years now, Remus is just fine, I insist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… Remus.  That’s gonna take a little getting used to, but alright.”  Pansy muttered, and before Remus could say anything else, someone tapped Hermione on the shoulder which prompted her to release Pansy’s hand.  She was about to protest before she saw Hermione being pulled into the arms of a woman.  Okay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione!”  She said, and Pansy heard Hermione laugh quietly against the woman’s chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonks!  You look lovely today.”  Hermione said, embracing the woman tightly before she was held at an arm's length and the woman chuckled at her statement.  Pansy couldn’t tell what was so funny.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I can look how I please.”  She joked and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What was that supposed to mean.  Hermione laughed and smacked her arm before stepping back next to Pansy and grabbing her hand again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut up, you know what I meant.”  Hermione sighed and she chuckled and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That I do.  Isn’t there someone you’re forgetting to introduce me to?”  Tonk  asked, lowering her voice a bit as she gestured over to Pansy, and Hermione’s face paled a little bit as she realized she’d forgotten.  Pansy </span>
  <span>found that adorable, because she hadn’t really forgotten by that much, it wasn’t like it was some huge mistake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, I’m being so rude… Pansy, this is Tonks.  Tonks, Pansy.”  Hermione said, gesturing between her and Pansy.  The woman, Tonks, smiled and held out a hand for Pansy to shake, which she did with some apprehension.  Everyone was being far too nice, she’d seen how this ended for her before on a holiday… running back to Hogwarts in the middle of the night.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey…”  Pansy said, and she noted the slight squint of Tonk’s eyes, like she was trying to figure something out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you’re friends with my cousin.”  Tonks said, leaning back a bit on her heel as she sized Pansy up, and that was when it clicked.  Draco had once mentioned having a family member who was a metamorphmagus who they no longer spoke of.  This must be her.  But being referred to as Draco’s ‘friend’ made her stomach churn.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If it's Draco, I thank you to never say that again.  He’s turned into quite the asshole recently, and I don’t love being associated with him.”  Pansy grumbled, and Tonks nodded sagely at this.  At least she understood.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  Remus and Sirius mentioned that.”  Tonks muttered and Pansy felt her face get hot. Did everyone here know her trauma?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, how much did Potter </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell </span>
  </em>
  <span>them?”  Pansy groaned, covering her face with her hands for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not judging you… if that's what you were thinking.  I honestly think they’re just happy Harry brought someone with who </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>nowhere to go.  Sirius was there when he was in school, got kicked out of his house too.”  Tonks reminded her and Pansy sighed and flicked some hair out of her eyes.  She liked to think she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>that similar to the man who’d been sent to and broke out of Azkaban… but he also didn’t seem so bad.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I’ve been told.”  Pansy muttered, and Tonks nodded, taking a couple steps away from the couple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll let you two get settled into your meal.  It was nice to meet you, Pansy.  And Hermione?”  Tonks said, pausing before she turned around.  Hermione looked up from where she was resting her head on Pansy’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  Hermione asked, and Tonks grinned at her and pointed at Pansy with a wink.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>stunning</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tonks said with a wink, and Pansy ducked her head away, trying not to look as embarrassed as she felt.  She still wasn’t quite used to how willing these kinds of people were to say what they felt.  She heard Hermione’s small chuckle</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know.” Hermione stated, with such conviction in her voice it was hard to even begin to argue with her, but Pansy still wanted to find a way.  It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>embarrassing</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Mione</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy hissed, feeling her face get hot, but Hermione merely chuckled and cupped her cheek lightly, looking over at her with such fondness in her eyes that it almost made Pansy’s chest hurt.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not gonna deny such an obvious fact, love.”  Hermione said, so softly and so simply that Pansy knew there was absolutely no arguing with her.  She would just have to work to accept that as she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her girlfriend’s waiting lips.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy could handle a lot, she could… but a whole evening dealing with Hermione, Ron, and Harry’s inside jokes just sounded like a lot right now, so she dislodged herself from Hermione’s lap and left a gentle kiss on the top of her head before heading downstairs.  She’d intended to just go lay down, maybe get started on some of the reading for after the break, but she was stopped by the feeling of someone staring at her, and this time it wasn’t Kreacher.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, why don’t you come sit down with me for a moment.  Please.” He said, and Pansy paused, feeling a little nervous.  She considered saying no, she barely knew this man but also… it felt rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh um… okay.”  She said, sinking into the seat.  Sirius gave her a tight smile and handed her a cup of tea expectantly.  She took it and sipped lightly as she leaned back into her chair.  What was this about?  It felt like an intervention.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just wanted to let you know that though it may sound odd… probably a bit sudden even… I’m here if you ever need to talk about what happened with your parents.  When I got disowned I had somewhere to go, I went to Harry’s father’s house, they were like a second family to me and they took me in.  It’s my understanding from what Hermione has said that you don’t have that.”  Sirius said, and Pansy could tell her was awaiting an answer.  An explanation.  But she couldn’t make it make sense, she knew Daphne’s parents didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate </span>
  </em>
  <span>her, she just wanted to do everything in her power to not make the same mistakes again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I could, it's just… going back into a pureblooded culture right now sounds like a two steps forward, one step back sort of situation.  I’m finally not as bigoted, and I’m finally in a happy relationship… and I know that if I moved in with my friend that might be frowned upon because…”  Pansy trailed off.  She didn’t know if the next words were going to be ‘she’s a girl’ or ‘she’s a muggle’.  Honestly she didn’t know which part terrified her more.  She’d been so programmed to fall for neither of those things, and Hermione had come along and screwed it up.  Sirius must’ve seen her apprehension because he cleared his throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because of Hermione’s blood status?”  Sirius asked gently, and Pansy flinched away.  She still felt bad for it, but she honestly wasn’t going back so that she could protect Hermione.  The further away from that mess she could stay, the better in Pansy’s opinion… it was one of the few things going right in her life right now and she had no intention of messing it up anytime soon.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Yes.”  Pansy finally said and Sirius </span>
  <em>
    <span>tsked </span>
  </em>
  <span>and nodded, reaching over to gently pat her hand, as if he understood… he probably </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>understand, Pansy realized, but she wasn’t comfortable connecting that dot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, do your friends' parents care about the status of things, or are they just pureblood?  Can’t help what you’re born into.”  Sirius reminded her and Pansy sighed and shrugged because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was a loaded question.  How was she supposed to know what adult socialites thought?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I honestly don’t know.  I know neither of their children subscribe to it, Daphne’s stood up for Hermione more than once at this point, and even her little sister has before at a party.”  She explained, and Sirius’s eyebrows shot up as he looked over at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You took Hermione to a Slytherin party?  In </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>climate?”  Sirius asked in surprise and Pansy shrugged and nodded.  She left out the part where it was Daphne who invited her, not Pansy, because it didn’t seem relevant.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Didn’t really see an issue with it.”  Pansy said, and that was true.  She hadn’t seen the issue </span>
  <em>
    <span>after </span>
  </em>
  <span>Daphne had talked her down about it, even if she had been nervous at first.  She couldn't have accounted for Crabbe and Goyle’s reaction.  Sirius let out a puff of air and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’re plenty brave, I'll give you that.”  He sighed and Pansy shrugged and took a sip of her tea before she spoke again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I ended the night with a broken knuckle.” Pansy sighed and she could’ve been seeing things but she thought she saw a small flicker of a smile on Sirius’s face as he leaned a little forward, crossing one leg over the other.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>more what I thought would happen.  Did it at least feel good to do?  I found that punching the people who irritated me sometimes just felt… </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>good.”  Sirius admitted, and Pansy couldn’t help her chuckle.  Rare was the day that there was an adult that actually acknowledged her anger.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it felt pretty nice.  Very much something the guy had earned, believe me.  He was one half of the two goons who outed me to my parents and got me disowned in the first place.  Draco was the one who outed me to the school.”  She explained, and she saw the way Sirius grimaced.  She supposed hearing of her godson’s ex wasn’t something he really wanted to do right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That boy is a real shame.  Harry thought he might actually be changing when they were together, but after your discovery…”  He trailed off, and Pansy didn’t know why but she felt the need to stand up for Draco in that moment, even if he was a complete and utter wanker and there was no going back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think there was a time that he was.  He truly loved Harry, I know that for a fact, but I also can’t imagine being gay and living in Malfoy Manor… I don’t know, something tells me that Lucius isn’t someone who’d welcome that with open arms.”  She explained and Sirius nodded and sighed sadly at this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, some people can surprise you, but I don’t think Lucius is one of them.  I understand his fear, his worry of being rejected… I had a brother who was a death eater, family pressure and all that.”  He said, and Pansy leaned forward a bit, suddenly very interested in this conversation.  It was always interesting to hear pureblood’s family history when it went </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>way.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you now?”  Pansy asked, trying to not sound too curious.  Sirius nodded and sighed, looking a little pained as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, he was a Slytherin, Regulus was his name… I-I left him behind when James took me in, and I knew I should’ve taken him with me, because if </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>couldn’t survive that household, I don’t know why I thought he could.  He died at 18.”  He said, sounding so small as he spoke that Pansy had to resist the urge to reach over and pat his hand.  It was a bit heartbreaking, if she was being honest with herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m very sorry to hear that.”  Pansy said, and she meant it, she couldn’t imagine losing a sibling that young… she’d have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>a sibling to lose one, she supposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, it's alright.  There were a lot of casualties in the first war, you know.  He wasn’t the only one I lost.”  Sirius reminded her, and Pansy remembered.  Harry’s parents, the whole reason she was talking to this man in the first place.  It was rather heartbreaking really, that he’d had to go through all that shit at one year old.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry’s parents… were you close with both of them?”  Pansy asked after a long moment, and Sirius smiled fondly and nodded, a small sigh leaving his lips.  It unnerved Pansy, just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>young </span>
  </em>
  <span>he looked.  That she was only a few years off from when Harry’s parents had </span>
  <em>
    <span>died</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  It wasn’t a pleasant thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah.  Lily and James they were… Merlin, they were just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t miss them.  But I’m grateful to have Harry now, I’m grateful to have a small piece of both of them with me.”  Sirius said, and Pansy’s chest felt a bit tight from that.  She didn’t deserve to be around such kind people.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From the way you’re talking about it, I’m gonna guess they weren’t the only ones of your friends you lost either.”  Pansy asked carefully and Sirius nodded and looked a little vacant when he responded to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  They weren’t.  I can show you the others, if you like?”  Sirius asked, and he sounded so hopeful that Pansy would’ve felt a bit bad saying no to this, after all he <em>was </em>her host.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.  Yeah, I’ve got some time.  Hermione’s hanging out with Harry and Ron right now and I wouldn’t want to intrude.”  Pansy said, and Sirius dug the photo out of his pocket and held it between the two of them, and Pansy watched uneasily as the people moved in the photo, and she realized that a good portion of them were dead.<br/>“Alright, so… I got this from Alastor Moody… Suppose you’ve never met the real one.”  Sirius said, mostly to himself, but Pansy still felt it polite to provide him with a solid answer to his musings.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, not to my knowledge.”  She said and he nodded and turned his attention back on the photo fully, pointing out a couple in the back.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well anyways, so that's Lily and James there in the back.”  He said, and Pansy made a sound of surprise, because she could’ve sworn she’d seen that man before.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit… Harry looks <em>so </em>much like his father.”  Pansy whispered, not even meaning to say it out loud.  But really, it was like looking at an older version of Harry.  She could only imagine the emotions this evoked in the boy.  Sirius merely chuckled and nodded, looking fondly into the distance for a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, acts a bit like him too if I’m being honest.  But his cooler temper is from Lily.  So are his eyes.  And that's Marlene McKinnon.  She died… just a bit after this photo was taken.”  He said, and Pansy didn’t exactly know how to respond to that.  You obviously can’t just say ‘neat’, she knew that much.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Interesting.  Sorry for your loss.”  She said, grimacing at how awkward that sounded.  Really?  <em>Interesting</em>?  She was not good at this sort of thing, but Sirius didn’t seem to notice as he stared down at the photograph sadly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her entire family went with her, Voldemort wiped them all out in one swoop.”  He explained and Pansy was even <em>less </em>sure how to respond to that one.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a real shame.”  Pansy said quietly, and he nodded.  Oh.  Good.  That one was a good response then.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh!  And that one there, that’s Dorcas Meadowes, she died in the war as well.”  He said, and Pansy cleared her throat and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well... She’s pretty.”  She said, not wanting to screw up her response again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, she was.  And those two right there, Frank and Alice Longbottom.”  Sirius said, and Pansy’s eyebrows flew up.  She’d never seen Neville’s parents but <em>Merlin, </em>did he look like them, it was almost unnerving.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.  Those are Neville’s parents?  Really?”  Pansy asked, and Sirius nodded, his eyes crinkling again like they had before.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  He sighed, and Pansy swallowed, remembering all the times Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle used to make fun of Neville for it and she, Daphne, and Tracey had just… let it all happen.  She felt bad now, that was for sure.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t they at St. Mungos now?  I-I only know that because-.”  Sirius interrupted her and placed a hand on her arm.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because your old friends probably made fun of it at one point?  It’s okay to own that.”  He reminded her and she fidgeted with her fingers.  Why was this man treating her so kindly, knowing what kind of a person she’d been?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I feel like git for it.”  She said quietly and Sirius nodded approvingly at this admittance and cleared his throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As you should, but ignoring your past isn’t going to do <em>anything </em>for you.  Anyway, do you know why they’re there?”  He asked, and Pansy shook her head, feeling a little bit sheepish that she didn’t know.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never listened close enough to find out.”  Pansy admitted, and Sirius’s lips formed a tight line as he started to speak.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Frank and Alice were tortured to insanity with the Cructius Curse by Bellatrix Lestrange.  She wanted to know where the Potters were and they refused to give up the information, honestly they’re some of the bravest people I’ve ever met.”  He explained and Pansy was in shock for a moment before she let out a heavy breath.  No wonder Neville was so nervous all the time, she would be too.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I’ve <em>got </em>to apologize to Neville when I get back.”  Pansy groaned, burying her face in her hands.  Beside her she heard Sirius sigh as he patted her shoulder, and part of her wondered why he was being so nice.  She’d done nothing but make fun of his godson for years, and she hadn’t become kinder for <em>him</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you do.  Oh, and that’s Wormtail… he’s the one who sold out Harry’s parents.”  Sirius said, and Pansy could detect the disdain in the man's voice, with good reason.  And the longer she looked at this man, who had been hiding as a trusted friend, the more uncomfortable she felt.  It felt like she was looking at a photo that she was never even meant to see… that no one was meant to see.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin’s beard… How’d they think it was you?”  Pansy asked and Sirius chuckled and shrugged as he tucked the photo back into his pocket and picked his tea back up, taking a long sip from it before he spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, pureblood wizard, Pettigrew faked his own death, I apparently seemed suspicious.  It was a whole mess.  I didn’t do it, obviously… I wished to get out of there every night, and take Harry away from those terrible people.  And I’m not saying they’re terrible because they’re muggles, that’s not why-.”  Pansy snorted and took a sip of her tea, shaking her head.  She’d heard her fair share of stories about Harry’s first guardians, before he’d moved in with Sirius, from Hermione.  They’d sounded even worse then her parents had been.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think anyone who locks a child in a cupboard under the stairs and barely feeds him can be constituted as terrible.”  Pansy said, and Sirius looked surprised at her response.  Was she a little offended that he thought her showing human decency was surprising?  Yes, but she wasn’t going to <em>say </em>that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you know about that?”  Sirius asked and Pansy chuckled and shrugged.  She’d been told it so many times it was common knowledge at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I’m dating Hermione, remember?”  Pansy joked… or didn’t joke, because that was why she knew, but it seemed to remind Sirius why she’d know of this.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.”  He sighed, and before Pansy could say anything else, she heard one of the steps creak behind her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans?”  Pansy straightened up a bit at the sound of Hermione’s voice and set down her cup of tea, moving to stand up.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of… thank you for the conversation, Sirius.  It was… nice to get some insight.”  She admitted, and she meant it.  She saw the twinkle in the man’s eye as he winked and started his way upstairs.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thought it might be.  Have a good evening, you two.”  He called behind him, and Pansy nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We will, you as well.”  Pansy said, and she let Hermione lead her quietly up to their room, and once the door was shut, Hermione gave her an odd look.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that all about?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sunk down onto the edge of their bed and shrugged.  She really didn’t know how to sum <em>all </em>of it up, but she’d certainly try.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was just talking to me about some stuff with getting disowned, and then telling me about Harry’s parents a bit… and Nevilles…”  Pansy trailed off, and luckily Hermione knew to take up the conversation.  She sat down beside Pansy on the edge of the bed and rubbed comforting circles on her back as she spoke.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s sad, what happened to them.”  Hermione said, and Pansy sighed and shook her head.  She felt <em>bad</em>, she almost wished she could go back to <em>not </em>feeling remorse for people who weren’t Draco Malfoy level bad.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never knew.”  She said softly, and Hermione chuckled and nodded, even though it didn’t really strike Pansy as that funny.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was guessing you didn’t.  Like yes, you were cruel back in the day, but there were some things that you still would’ve mostly left alone.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy thought about it for a moment.  Of course, there was no way to know if Hermione was right, but she certainly hoped she was, she hoped that the person she used to be had some shred of respect.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed and they were silent for a moment, just sitting next to each other as Pansy remembered who she was before.  She didn’t like it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  Hermione said, her voice shooting right through Pansy’s thoughts.  She refused to look up still.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked, and she heard a rustling that meant Hermione was scooting impossibly closer.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mere for a minute.”  Hermione said, tilting Pansy’s head up with a finger under her chin.  Pansy barely had her time to make eye contact before Hermione’s lips were on hers, and the finger under her chin became a hand lightly gripping her jaw, leading her closer.  She felt one swipe of Hermione’s tongue across her lips and she knew she was gone.  Done for the night.  No more interaction with anyone but <em>her</em>, it just wasn’t possible.  She let out a tiny groan and opened her mouth as she leaned a little closer, feeling the comfortable familiarity of Hermione’s tongue exploring her mouth.  After a few more minutes Pansy finally broke away and gulped in some breaths before resting her forehead against Hermione’s.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What was that for?”  She asked, her voice coming out more winded then she had intended.  Hermione simply shrugged and ran a hand through her hair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, partially because you’re my girlfriend and I don’t need a reason to kiss you, and partially because… you did so well today, with everything.  And maybe this time we can make it past the holiday without you running off?”  Hermione said, her voice ending in a questioning tone with a small smile on her face.  Pansy scoffed and smacked her arm lightly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  I had a good reason.”  Pansy huffed, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but nodded.  If Pansy was being honest, she could admit she’d been a bit stupid during Christmas, but she would never admit that to Hermione.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  I just… want to spend it with you.”  She said quietly, and Pansy smiled and nodded.  She did too, it was nice to be spending time around people she loved.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m here to stay this time, ‘Mione.  I promise.  Don’t worry.”  She promised, bringing the back of Hermione’s hand to her lips so she could press a soft kiss to it.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0048"><h2>48. Chapter 48</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>So this fully solidified which one of them took longer to get ready.  Pansy was ready an hour ago to head down to the dinner, whereas Hermione… not so much.  She’d gotten dressed, sure, that was quick.  But she was taking a painstakingly long time on her makeup in the bathroom, leaving Pansy bored.  She was about to give up and just take a nap when the door creaked open and Hermione sped into the room, stopping in front of the mirror.  This immediately caught Pansy’s attention for two reasons:  Beautiful girl, formal attire.  A </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonderful </span>
  </em>
  <span>combination she thought with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, don’t you simply look lovely tonight… so beautiful.”  Pansy said, sitting up from where she’d been lounging on the bed.  And Hermione did look beautiful, not like that was a new development, but Pansy couldn’t help but wonder where she’d gotten this dress.  It was green, knee length, and it clung to her body in quite a lovely way.  Hermione, for her part, smiled sheepishly and refused to meet Pansy’s eyes in the mirror.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, well I figured, since there's dinner tonight that I should dress up.”  Hermione said, adjusting her hair once more.  Pansy tucked the hair to the side and kissed across her shoulder, smiling to herself at the change in Hermione's breathing pattern.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Naturally.”  Pansy muttered, her hands trailing up Hermione’s waist as she tucked her face against her neck, inhaling the smell that she’d just decided was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione Jean</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  It was intoxicating to say the least, and Pansy was happy to get drunk off of it.  She let her mouth ghost over her neck before lightly sucking some of the skin into her mouth, causing Hermione to groan and turn around, holding Pansy’s head between both of her hands.  For a moment, she thought she’d done something to upset the Gryffindor, but upon further inspection, I.E. eye contact, she saw it was honestly just the opposite.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  Hermione said, her voice betraying her feelings.  It sent a shiver down Pansy’s back as she traced little patterns onto her lover’s hips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked, pressing soft, sweet kisses across Hermione’s jawline, listening to her voice hitch in a sigh.  Beautiful.  Always </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>beautiful.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... You’re going to mess up my makeup.”  Hermione said, and Pansy could tell that was a very pathetic attempt at saying ‘I don’t want anyone jumping to conclusions about what's happening up here’.  Even if their conclusions may be right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m being careful.”  Pansy murmured, resuming her attack on Hermione’s pulsepoint.  The girl let out a low groan and shook her head, holding her away at an arm's length and sucking in long breaths before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy we </span>
  <em>
    <span>cannot </span>
  </em>
  <span>do this right now.”  Hermione said, a little more firmly, as if she was trying to convince herself <em>and </em>convince Pansy, whose only reaction was to pout.  Not something she did normally, but it honestly worked better then arguing in most situations.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” Pansy asked, and Hermione scoffed and shook her head, like the answer was obvious.  It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>but that didn’t mean she wanted to acknowledge it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone is waiting downstairs.  The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Weasley’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> are downstairs, meaning Molly is downstairs.”  Hermione said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She wasn’t seeing an issue, they were two floors away from downstairs, no one could hear anything, especially if they were to cast even a small silencing charm and ward the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?”   Pansy asked.  Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, putting a hand on either of Pansy’s shoulders to make her look her in the eye.  Oh so she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious </span>
  </em>
  <span>about whatever she was about to say, good to know.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not keeping them waiting just so I can fuck my girlfriend.  Plus, you said you wanted to reconcile with Molly.”  She sighed, and Pansy practically choked on the air in her lungs because it should not be </span>
  <em>
    <span>legal </span>
  </em>
  <span>for </span>
  <span>Hermione Granger to speak crudely, it could be the cause for a very untimely death.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, that sentence was hot.  The first one, obviously I’m not calling Molly Weasley hot, it's just-Oh hello.”  Pansy chuckled as Hermione wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her into a kiss.  For someone who moments ago was so hellbent on leaving, Pansy couldn’t help but think that the Gryffindor may have changed her mind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever am I going to do with you… Pansy Parkinson.”  Hermione sighed against her lips, and Pansy pulled back, chuckling a little bit as she raised her eyebrow.  Oh, Hermione had walked right into this one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I could think of a few-.”  Pansy wasn’t able to finish that sentence before Hermione’s wand was pointing in her face.  Oh shit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Langlock</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, and Pansy’s eyes widened as her tongue stuck to the top her of her mouth.  Using magic as a form of keeping her quiet should really be illegal, its oughta be a misuse.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmph!”  She groaned, and Hermione had a wicked smile on her face as she leaned against the wall and observed her struggling girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to behave?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and shrugged.  How was she supposed to answer that question with her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth?  How was she supposed to go to </span>
  <em>
    <span>dinner </span>
  </em>
  <span>with her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.  If Hermione wanted to shut her up, there were much better ways to do it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mmphm.”  Pansy tried, but the curse was cast </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>well, not that she expected anything else from Hermione.  It was all or nothing with this girl and today she’d chosen </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>also </span>
  </em>
  <span>chosen to have a self satisfied smirk on her lips as she brought her wand up again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”  She said, and mumbled the countercurse.  Pansy breathed in heavily and moved her jaw around, glaring down at her girlfriend.  She forgot just how uncomfortable the tongue locking spell really was.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are such a wanker sometimes!”  Pansy grumbled, and Hermione chuckled and hopped up on her toes, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.  Pansy pretended to be unaffected by this, even as her cheeks burned.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t even act like you don’t love it.”  Hermione chuckled, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Of course she loved when Hermione was like that, it was half the reason she fell in love with her but that didn’t make it any less irritating sometimes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I do… even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>getting in the way of my fun.”  Pansy said, putting on a pout once more in an attempt to garner some sympathy from the woman she loved.  But Hermione merely laughed and pressed a quick peck to her lips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww poor baby.  Hand.”  Hermione said, holding her hand out for Pansy to grab.  She sighed and took it, entwining their fingers as she let Hermione lead her downstairs.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Pansy huffed, and they walked down the stairs, only to be greeted at the bottom by Harry who insisted on ushering them into the dining room himself because ‘it was either me or Ron, and I figured you’d be less likely to hex me, Parkinson.’ to quote him almost exactly.  She again got the urge to bring up when he almost killed her, but she held her tongue and simply smiled over at Hermione.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you two are!  I was just about to send Ginny to go get you.”  Mrs. Weasley said brightly, and Pansy couldn’t help the chuckle she had when she saw how stricken Ginny looked at this sentence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?!  Why not send Harry, he’s the one who invited them.”  She complained, and Mrs. Weasley crossed her arms and looked over at her daughter, patience clearly a little bit short today, not that Pansy could blame her, she could only imagine what getting ready to go to a holiday would look like for a family that big.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because, Ginerva, I wouldn’t want Harry to have to deal with seeing them in a… compromising position.”  Mrs. Weasley said, her voice coming out in short, clipped, words.  Like she wanted them out of her mouth before she could even taste them.  Ginny made a face and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mum-.” Ginny protested, and all Mrs. Weasley had to do was send her one warning look and she was quiet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she’s right to think that.”  Pansy said quietly, but not quietly enough apparently, because Hermione smacked her lightly in the back of the head.  She winced and rubbed the spot, which was now just a little bit tender.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione snapped and behind them Pansy heard a low chuckle and turned around to see Ron.  It honestly seemed like he’d been standing there for some time, so Pansy couldn’t figure out why he wouldn’t just say something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is already off to a </span>
  <em>
    <span>smashing </span>
  </em>
  <span>start, isn’t it?”  Ron joked, and Pansy narrowed her eyes but decided against smacking him again, especially in front of his mother, it seemed a little rude and uncalled for.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Ron.”  She sighed, and Ron huffed and crossed his arms, looking away from the girls.  Okay, now even Hermione would have to admit that was dramatic, right?  Pansy glanced over and yep, Hermione looked as done with this spectacle as she was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could be </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me.  It’s a holiday, after all.”  Ron grumbled, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  They weren’t hexing each other and she hadn’t been pulled aside by Molly and yelled at to the point where she simply left.  That seemed pretty nice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Believe me, that was plenty nice.”  Pansy chuckled, and she felt someone pulling Hermione out of her hands and she looked over to see Ginny hauling her off by the elbow and she scowled.  How rude, stealing her date when she already had one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny what are you-.”  Ginny held up her hand to silence her as she and Hermione got closer to turning around a corner.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Girl talk.”  She said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow. Why did she need </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione </span>
  </em>
  <span>for that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have a girl for that-.”  Pansy started, and Ginny shot her a glare and held up one finger.  Pansy rolled her eyes, great, overruled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stay, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Parkinson.” Ginny ordered, and Pansy rolled her eyes, but she listened.  She watched them round the corner and she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.  Right.”  She mumbled, and felt someone’s presence next to her, jumping a bit when she saw Luna out of her peripheral.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I must say, you look beautiful tonight, Pansy.  Positively ethereal.”  Luna said dreamily, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She was pretty sure Luna meant that as a compliment but the only way to be sure was to ask her outright.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… that’s good, right?”  Pansy asked, and Luna gave her a funny look and turned to look her head on before nodding.  Pansy thought that was a bit much, she could’ve just said yes or no, no need for dramatics.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yes.  Just… you look very good.”  She said simply, and Pansy nodded and looked forward again.  That was sweet of her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Luna, you too.”  Pansy said, and they were silent for a moment, but honestly Pansy was fine with it.  It was odd, that Luna had become one of the people that she could have comfortable silence with.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never really thanked you for helping me that day.”  Luna finally said, and Pansy looked over at her in shock.  She was fairly certain she’d been thanked multiple times, by both Luna and Ginny, for the help she provided that day.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, you thanked me plenty.  I wasn’t going to let my friend get bullied by some idiot.”  Pansy said, and Luna was silent for a moment before she spoke again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A lot of people would.”  She muttered, and Pansy looked at her in surprise and shook her head.  Now that she was friends with her, Pansy didn’t really get why anyone would bully her.  Even if she had, not even a year ago.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well a lot of people are rather stupid.”  Pansy said with a snort and it took a moment, but a smile spread across the Ravenclaw’s face, one that looked to be of a sort of relief.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I suppose you’re correct.”  She said quietly, and Pansy noticed both of their girlfriends walking back over, arm in arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s back, stop tormenting my girlfriend.”  Ginny sighed, wrapping an arm around Luna’s waist.  Pansy saw the blonde girl’s smile grow impossibly bigger as she craned her neck back to leave a kiss on her girlfriends cheek before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, she wasn’t, we were just-.”  Ginny cut her off and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, baby.  I was kidding around.”  Ginny chuckled against Luna’s temple.  Pansy saw that immediately all the stress in Luna’s body seemed to dissipate, and she smiled again.  It was like its own sort of magic, very sweet to watch.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  Okay.”  She said, and tucked her face against Ginny’s shoulder.  The Gryffindor smiled before turning her attention on Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna mingle.  Catch up with you later?”  Ginny asked, raising an eyebrow as she brought two fingers to her lips to imitate taking a puff.  Pansy’s face relaxed into a smile because </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>Luna had brought her stash with her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah.”  Pansy said, and Ginny nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool.”  She responded, and then disappeared into the kitchen with Luna.  Pansy turned to talk to Hermione, but before she could she felt a light tap on her shoulder, and she turned to face Mrs. Weasely.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  The woman said, and Pansy took a deep breath, wondering why she was so nervous.  Like yes, this was a big deal but was it </span>
  <em>
    <span>heart palpitations </span>
  </em>
  <span>big?  Pansy didn’t think so.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mrs. Weasley!  Hello.”  Pansy said, flashing her a large smile.  It probably looked forced, but it was only because she was nervous.  What if Mrs. Weasley just told her to fuck off?  Never accepted her apology?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, dear.  I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment.”  Mrs. Weasley asked, and Pansy nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, of course.  Do you mind or…” Pansy trailed off as Hermione smiled and shook her head, knowing this was what Pansy had been hoping to accomplish today.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not at all, I’ll be here when you get back.”  Hermione said, patting the back of Pansy’s hand before releasing it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”  Pansy said, and she allowed Mrs. Weasley to pull her around the corner for them to have a private talk.  She got quite worried for a moment that she was going to be shunned again, but she was instead met with a smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve changed quite a bit since Christmas.”  Mrs. Weasley said, and Pansy felt her face get a little warm as she nodded.  She couldn’t quite tell if that was a complement or not, but now felt as good of a time as any to apologize.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“About that.  I’m sorry I ran out, I just-.”  Mrs. Weasley shook her head and reached out to gently pat her arm before speaking</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t think you were good enough to be there, and you thought it was too nice for someone like you.  Don’t worry, Fleur pulled me aside and explained everything.  I do feel bad, I shouldn’t have snapped like that at you, you were going through a lot at that point in time and I’m sure some of the blame of your feud fell on my Ron as well.”  Molly said, and Pansy held her tongue from saying that he’d been responsible for about as much as she was.  She was trying to build a bridge, not burn down a city.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was the instigator for a lot of the time, I’m not going to deny that, but I’ve been trying to be better-.”  Mrs. Weasley was quick to cut her off.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“From what I hear you have been.  Ron even told me that you were nice enough to invite him to a pre-break tradition that you do with two of your Slytherin friends?”  Molly asked and Pansy knitted her eyebrows together.  Pre-break tradition?  Her mouth fell open as she cast a glare over at Ron.  Why would he mention smoking with them?  Was he </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to never let Pansy back into Molly’s good graces?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Oh!  Oh.  Yeah, that.  Well, I figured that I’ve got to make an effort as well, right?”  Pansy said weakly, and the woman nodded enthusiastically.  Okay, so that meant that Ron didn’t mention the smoking part exclusively, thank Merlin.  She didn’t want to deal with the drama that would cause.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s exactly right.  And Ginny told me all about how you helped her with that boy that was bothering her, and how you stood up for Luna.”  Mrs. Weasley said, and Pansy nodded. She’d never realized that someone being bullied even </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>bother her until she became friends with Luna and realized just how shitty it was to watch.  And with Ginny… well it was second nature, of course she was going to help the people who helped her through something so difficult in her life.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ve been where Ginny was before and it's not fun to go through it all by yourself, and Luna’s a good person.  She doesn’t deserve all the bullying she endures.”  Pansy sighed, and she saw a look of pride spread across Mrs. Weasely’s face as she patted Pansy lightly on the arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad to hear you’ve matured a bit.  And… you left something behind the last time you were at the Burrow.”  Mrs. Weasley said and Pansy furrowed her brows.  She hadn’t been missing anything the past couple of months...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I?  I’m terribly sorry, you could’ve just mailed it-.”  Mrs. Weasley shook her head and dug something out of her bag with a small smile on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, this felt right to do it by hand.  Here, dear.”  She said, pressing a soft sweater into her hands.  Pansy was dumbfounded.  It was the sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted her for Christmas, she was sure that she would just throw it out.  She tightened her grip on the fabric and gave the woman a small smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mrs. Weasley-.”  She started, because she really felt like she didn’t deserve something so nice.  But Mrs. Weasley shook her head and reached up to gently pat her cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t hear it.  And it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>Molly, </span>
  </em>
  <span>dear.  If you can call Remus and Sirius by their names, you can call me Molly.”  Molly insisted, and Pansy took a deep breath and let it out.  This was going to be a bit of work, it was already uncomfortable to call the men what they wished to be called… it just felt disrespectful.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Well… thank you.”  Pansy sighed, and she turned on her heel to walk back to the party.  She assumed Hermione was waiting for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, dear.  And Pansy?”  Molly asked, and Pansy turned around and looked at her.  What else was there right now?  She’d repaired the relationship, apologies had occurred...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  Pansy asked, and she felt Molly pull her into a tight hug that she hadn’t been prepared for.  Really took the wind out of her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome home.”  Molly said, and Pansy’s mind caught up to her body and she hugged the woman back, not knowing why she felt like crying from those words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… thank you.”  She whispered.  This might actually be the first good spring holiday she’s ever had.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0049"><h2>49. Chapter 49</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So how was your little getaway with Granger anyways.”  Daphne sighed, her voice coming out bored, but measured, so that Pansy knew that she was actually curious about her answer.  She’d owled Daphne once over the break to let her know that she actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>getting to share a room with Hermione, and about how surreal it was to talk to someone who’d gone through something very similar to her with his own family, but she hadn’t gotten a response.  So either, Daphne had been busy or Daphne’s parents had decided that their friendship wasn’t a good idea.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t call it a getaway, what with Potter and Weasley constantly interrupting us.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne cocked a brow.  She knew there was more to the story, it just wasn’t corridor appropriate.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But?”  Daphne asked quietly, and Pansy shrugged and cleared her throat, not keen on giving the sorted details away in a hallway where just about anyone could hear.  Of course she’d tell them more later.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… it was nice.”  She said carefully, and she heard Tracey snort on her other side and loop an arm through hers, which surprised Pansy.  It wasn’t that Tracey wasn’t affectionate, it was that she normally clung more to Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m glad </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>of us had a good time.”  Tracey grumbled, and immediately Pansy felt bad.  She unlooped their arms and wrapped one around the other girl's shoulder before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Tracey!  I know I missed the tradition-.”  The other witch waved her off with a smile and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>It’s fine, it's fine, we all went home this year.  I sort of continued it with Theo, I actually just brought him home with me.”  She said, and Pansy noticed how quietly she said Theo’s name.  This wasn’t that weird, they’d been weird in the common room too… but the incidences together raised some eyebrows.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I totally forgot that you took the train home this year, you hardly ever do that.  And… You two have been acting awfully shy around each other, something you’re not telling us, Davis?”  Daphne teased, and Tracey wrinkled her nose and shook her head, looking utterly disgusted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  With </span>
  <em>
    <span>Theo?!  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Please.”  Tracey chuckled, but her voice went a little too high and she laughed a little too long.  Pansy narrowed her eyes.  Tracey was hiding something, something she was probably embarrassed by and this rarely happened.  In short, Pansy ‘s interest peaked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not fooling anyone, Tracey, so why don’t you just say what happened-.”  Pansy said, and Tracey rubbed her temples and sighed.  Good, Pansy's insistence was working.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“FIne!  Fine.  Merlin, I can’t keep anything a secret at this fucking school.  We hooked up.”  Tracey said quietly and Pansy’s jaw dropped.  It wasn’t a secret that Tracey was a virgin, even if people lumped hers and Daphne’s reputations together, so this development was a bit surprising.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit!  I thought it was maybe a kiss… but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>lost it to-.”  Daphne mumbled, and Tracey was quick to cut her off with a sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Theodore Nott.  Yes.”  She muttered, and Daphne shook her head in disbelief.  Pansy thought that for once she was going to leave it go, but she put too much faith in Daphne Greengrass.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?”  Daphne asked, eyebrow raised.  Pansy sensed that her guard was up, but she couldn’t tell why.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was… nice.  He was very patient and a good listener and it was nice.”  Tracey said quietly, and Pansy offered her a little half smile and a squeeze around her shoulders, resting her chin on top of her head.  She was glad that Tracey was happy with what had happened, she knew the girl was picky about her first time.  Daphne, on the other hand, was not satisfied with what she had been told and apparently saw it right to press for more details.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you-.”  Daphne started, and Pansy clapped a hand over Daphne’s mouth.  She needed to learn </span>
  <em>
    <span>boundaries</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  And what not to ask someone in public because honestly, that seemed a little bit intrusive.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne!  You’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>got </span>
  </em>
  <span>to stop asking people that, honestly.”  Pansy groaned, and Tracey chuckled and nodded.  Neither of their reactions seemed to phase Daphne who shrugged and looked over at Tracey with a marked curiosity and… something else in her eyes.  Pansy would say jealousy, but that sounded ridiculous, Daph didn’t have feelings for </span>
  <em>
    <span>Theo</span>
  </em>
  <span> of all people.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’m curious, sue me!”  Daphne grumbled, and Pansy gave her an odd look.  Daphne almost seemed… upset.  Like hearing about something happening with Tracey was making her mad which was obviously crazy but still.... An interesting coincidence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could wait until we’re in our dorm, maybe Tracey doesn’t want to spill the sorted details of her sexual encounter in a place where all can hear.” Pansy said, and Tracey placed a hand on her shoulder to ease her down.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it's okay.  I-I didn’t, but that wasn’t what was important.  It was just… nice.  He was good company, and we had a good time.  I don’t love going home and having a friend there actually really helped put a buffer between my parents constant questions.  It was a one time thing, and I don’t think there was any real </span>
  <em>
    <span>attraction</span>
  </em>
  <span>, just some boredom, and I think it was important for both of us to rule out everything.”  Tracey explained, and Pansy nodded.  That made a lot of sense, even if Daphne was glaring her down for taking a side.  This was getting a little weird, even for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a mature outlook-.”  Pansy started, and she was interrupted by the sound of yelling down one hallway, and she paused before she </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>heard Draco’s voice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-If it isn’t the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Golden Boy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  He sneered and Pansy glanced over at Daphne and then at Tracey, both girls looking for her signal to go, and immediately Pansy’s mind was on Hermione.  No way in hell she was having her girlfriend be on the receiving end of whatever this was, because she was probably with Harry considering she wasn’t with her.  As they rounded the corner, sure enough, there stood Harry, Hermione, and Ron on one side of the hallway, and Draco, Blaise and Theo on the other.  Odd, Pansy would’ve expected Crabbe and Goyle, but she didn’t want to get into that today anyways.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck off, Malfoy.”  Hermione snarled and that gave Pansy pause.  Maybe her girlfriend could handle this on her own, she didn’t want to seem like she was swooping in for no reason.  But the second she saw Draco’s lip curl into an arrogant smirk, she knew today was not the day that she was going to leave it to her girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohoho, quite the mouth you’ve got on you today, Granger.  You spend one week with your head between a disgraced pureblood’s legs and you think you can talk to me like you’re a </span>
  <em>
    <span>respected </span>
  </em>
  <span>one?  That’s simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorable</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Aren’t you gonna hold your mudblood bitch at bay, Potter?”  Draco said, doing his best to sound bored.  Pansy felt her blood roar in her ears as she lunged forward, only to be held back by two sets of strong arms around her waist, and she cast glares over at Daphne and Tracey, who for their part looked just as pissed at what Draco had said.  They weren’t doing anything to stop Theo and Blaise from holding her back, but still.  Weasley seemed to get his wits about him first and stepped in front of Hermione, causing Draco to back up just a little bit from the ginger boy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!  You can’t talk to her like that!”  Ron protested, and Draco snorted and sized him up as he crossed his arms.  It was at this moment that Pansy realized just how much talk he really was.  He got in so little duels it was astounding, despite the fact that no matter what happened he seemed to think he would reign supreme.  And if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>lose, then it was a letter home to Lucius Malfoy… of course Draco was a goddamn coward, what did she expect?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I just did, Weasley.  And what are you going to do about it?”  Draco snapped and Pansy decided that was probably her queue. She drove a heel into Theo’s foot and an elbow into Blaises ribs and within a moment she was free, wand drawn and pressed to the back of Draco’s neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>He’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>not going to do anything.  But I certainly will.”  Pansy said, keeping her voice level and cold.  She saw Draco’s body go rigid as he slowly turned around, the wand now pointed directly at his throat.  For his credit, he looked like </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he looked terrified.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy I-.”  He started, but she held up her free hand to silence him as she narrowed her eyes, imagining the many different ways she could make him pay right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I warned you about what happens when you call the woman I love that word, didn’t I?”  Pansy said through gritted teeth, pressing her wand to Draco’s adam’s apple.  She didn’t miss his nervous swallow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes bu-.”  Pansy narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Expelliarmus.”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>she said, and Draco’s wand flew from his hand.  Daphne was quick to pick it up and tuck it in her robe before jutting her chin at Pansy in a motion that was clearly meant to mean ‘continue’.  Draco held his hands up and took a deep breath, trying to get a little closer to her, but she took a wide step back.  Pansy noticed that when he moved closer, Hermione had drawn her wand and had it at her side.  Sweet, but she didn’t need the help.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.”  He started, and she shook her head and pointed the wand at his heart.  Enough stunning spells it should kill him, but she pushed that dark thought away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>you for threatening my girlfriend and my friends.”  Pansy said through clenched teeth and she caught the little smirk on Hermione’s face at the way she’d referred to all of them as friends, and it almost made her falter.  Of course she didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate </span>
  </em>
  <span>Harry and Ron anymore, she’d just spent a whole week around them and had only smacked Ron upside the head once… and that was earned.  Her musings were interrupted by a condescending chuckle as Draco shook his head at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friends?  Since when are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends </span>
  </em>
  <span>with the golden trio?  They’re below you-.”  He started, and he was cut off by Daphne groaning behind them as she took a step forward to be standing next to Pansy, hands on her hips, a defiant look on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>shut the fuck up, Malfoy?  For fucks sake, it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>exhausting </span>
  </em>
  <span>to hear your voice all.  The.  Time.  ‘Mione, Weasley, you okay?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy clocked the surprise on the boys faces, and the grateful look on Hermione’s as she nodded.  This was a time where Daphne’s slightly grating personality came in handy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Yeah, we’re good… um…. Thanks, Daphne.”  Hermione said, and she nodded curtly, keeping her eyes trained on Draco.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.  Take Potter and get out of here, we’ve got this one handled.” Daphne said, and Harry opened his mouth in protest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.” He started, and Tracey held up a hand to him, and yes, Pansy felt a bit bad for sending him away, technically it was his ex so it was his battle to fight too, but she needed to handle this on her own.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, golden boy.  Can’t always be the hero, let the girl defend her girlfriends honor.”  Tracey instructed, and Harry still looked like he wanted to argue, but if he did Pansy was going to pull the card of ‘hey remember when you tried to </span>
  <em>
    <span>poison </span>
  </em>
  <span>me’, and that would be the end of that little discussion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“.... Right.”  He sighed, and the three of them disappeared around the corner, and Pansy turned her attention back on a rather nervous and borderline remorseful Draco Malfoy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy listen to me-.”  Draco tried, but Pansy shook her head and took a step closer.  Blaise and Theo tried to get between them, for Pansy’s sake or Draco’s she really couldn’t tell, but it didn’t last long before they were being backed against the wall by Daphne and Tracey, wands drawn.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pick up your wand, Malfoy.  Now.”  Pansy said, keeping her voice cold and steady as she looked at her former friend, who honestly looked close to pissing himself.  Fair, the last time he’d been on the end of her anger she’d hit him.  Luckily Daphne heard her, and without turning her back, she dropped Draco's wand on the ground and kicked it behind her so it rolled to the feet of the boy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please can we just talk-.”  She let out a low chuckle and shook her head.  Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>he wanted to talk to her.  Now he wanted to act like he could be civil, why that just wouldn’t do now would it?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The time for talking passed the second you took the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>dark mark.  It’s even further gone with what you called my girlfriend.” Pansy said, her jaw starting to ache at how hard it was clenched.  His sad, apologetic demeanor stopped and he looked at her with some annoyance, rolling his eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you even gonna do?  Because if you were gonna fight me for her honor you would’ve done it right away.”  He snapped, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  He didn’t get it, he didn’t get that it was the principle of the thing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I could’ve.  I could’ve torn you limb from limb, left you crying for your mother in the middle of the hallway as I got hauled off to yet </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>disciplinary meeting, but that's not how I want to do it today.  I know physical fighting would give me an unfair advantage, out of the two of us you’re more likely to cry if you break a </span>
  <em>
    <span>nail</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so I figured… a proper duel.  Wand.  Up.”  Pansy growled, and Draco’s face seemed to pale.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not-.”  He started, but she held up a hand to silence him and took a large step forward.  She couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait </span>
  </em>
  <span>to watch him break.  Merlin knows he deserves it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unless you’re scared that this </span>
  <em>
    <span>disgraced </span>
  </em>
  <span>pureblood, as you chose to call me, can beat you.  Which, I can by the way, blindfolded and dizzy I could beat you in a duel.”  Pansy said, and Draco’s gaze turned cold as he sniffed indignantly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m trying to be a gentleman.”  He muttered, and Pansy raised her eyebrow and her wand.  So he wanted her to be the first one to strike.  That could be done.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, I’ll start then.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Levicorpus.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  She said, and he was hefted off the ground by his ankle, his wand clattering to the stone floor below.  Pansy watched as his face went deep red with embarrassment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Put me down.”  He said, teeth clenched, and Pansy shook her head.  Why would she put him down?  She was only just getting started.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t think so, Malfoy.”  Pansy said, and Draco huffed and crossed his arms, sort of funny to watch midair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you want?  Money?  An apology?”  Draco hissed, and Pansy chuckled and raised her eyebrow.  Did he think that since she was disowned she was destitute?  She’d never stoop low enough that she’d need to grovel for money from Draco </span>
  <em>
    <span>Malfoy </span>
  </em>
  <span>himself.  So instead she sneered and took a step forward, causing Draco to swing a bit in the air.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to watch you </span>
  <em>
    <span>suffer</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I want to humiliate you and make you feel small and make sure you know </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>how you try to make my girlfriend feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>every day.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  She spat, and before she could cast anything else she felt a large hand on her shoulder and flinched.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, come on-.”  Theo tried, speaking very softly.  Pansy shook his hand off and glared over her shoulder, accidentally losing her focus enough that Draco went careening to the ground, recovering his wand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’ll get to you in a minute, Theodore.”  She said, her voice low and measured.  Next to him, Blaise let out a low chuckle and bumped his shoulder.  Yeah, because this </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>seemed like some kind of joking matter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ooo </span>
  <em>
    <span>Theodore</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  He teased, and she turned her head to look at Blaise, who immediately stopped laughing and looked at the ground.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>for sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>not off the hook, Zabini.”  Pansy growled, and he nodded, but didn’t raise his gaze.  Good.  He knew better.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Furnunculus</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Draco said, and Pansy winced as she felt the boils rise on her skin.  She’d let her guard down for one minute, what a mistake.  She was going to offer a truce, that is until she saw the smug look on Draco’s face.  The fucker really thought he won?  From a stupid acne hex?  It made her anger boil, and she pointed her wand at his sternum.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh you slimy motherfucker!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy!  Stupefy!  Stup-.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She didn’t get to cast it on Draco’s motionless body again before she felt a pair of slim arms around her as Daphne struggled to haul her backwards.</span>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!  Stop, hey, stop!”  She whispered, and Pansy’s knees gave out, letting her crumple to the ground as she held her wand out at Draco.  Daphne slid down the wall and cradled her head softly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll kill him, I don’t care.  Isn’t it if too many hit him he’ll fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Pansy whispered, and Tracey took a deep breath and knelt down next to them, rubbing Pansy’s arm, attempting to comfort her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She whispered, and Pansy shook both of them off and stood up, wiping the tears she hadn’t even felt start off of her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  It’s not fair.  It's </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>fair that he gets to walk around this school like he isn’t in a group that’s trying to wipe out half of it!  That he still gets to be second in the class when all he does is torment people.”  Pansy said, her voice getting shakier with every word.  She didn’t even realize she’d been holding all that in, it felt like she was 10 pounds lighter, like she could actually breathe.  But then someone had to shatter the moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be fair, his grades are-.”  Blaise started, and Pansy looked up at him and shook her head.  She wasn’t above hexing him, even if he hadn’t said anything wrong yet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will rip your fucking eyes out, Zabini.”  She growled, and Blaise held up two hands in surrender and looked away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blaise, Theo, take Draco to the hospital wing, and so help me Morgana if you mention it was Pansy-.” Blaise held up a hand and nodded before hauling Draco onto his back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We won’t, we’ll be discrete.”  Blaise insisted, and Daphne’s mouth formed a thin line as she nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, for what it's worth… Sorry?”  Theo tried, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke.  Pansy snorted to herself and shook her head.  He’d have to do better then that for her to ever accept his apology.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you were different, Theo.  But standing by Draco?  I really wish last week had never even happened.”  Tracey snapped, and Daphne let out a low whistle, but Pansy noticed the large grin on her face when she did so.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey-.”  He tried, and Tracey shook her head and jabbed her finger into his chest as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a deatheater.  He’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>deatheater</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  And you just think this is okay?!”  Tracey said, her eyes narrowing as her voice got progressively louder.  Pansy didn’t blame Theo for the panicked look on his face as he went to place a hand on either of Tracey’s shoulders in a futile attempt to calm her, but she simply smacked them away, eyes blazing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not-.”  Theo started, but Tracey shook her head and turned his back to him, and Pansy couldn’t even pretend she didn’t see the devastated look on his face.  Oh shit.  He actually liked her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just fuck off.  Don’t speak to me.”  Tracey spat, and Theo reached out once more, but Daphne stepped in front of him and leveled her wand in his face, backing him off until he followed Blaise and Draco to the hospital wing.  Pansy walked over and put a comforting arm around Tracey, resting her chin on top of her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to write him off.”  Pansy mumbled, and Tracey snorted and shook her head, detaching herself from Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh fuck him if he’s sympathizing with Draco, that is the biggest red flag I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>seen.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy couldn't help but agree.  Deatheater sympathy was something that probably shouldn't be taken lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to get you to the infirmary so they can reverse this.”  Daphne mumbled, examining where Draco’s curse had hit her.  Pansy probably guessed correctly that it looked gross, judging from Daphne’s facial expressions.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… you’re right.  I don’t want Hermione seeing me like this-.”  Both of the girls exchanged a look and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Please, you could have 90% of your body burned, she’d still want you.”  Daphne insisted, rolling her eyes.  Pansy wasn’t too sure of that, like yes Hermione liked all of her, but looks had to factor into that as well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can never be too sure.”  Pansy mumbled, and the three of them set off down the hallway, Daphne and Tracey flanking either side of her as if they were scared someone was going to say something to set her off.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Madame Pomfrey!”  Daphne called, waving her arm, and the witch turned around, flashing them all a courtesy smile before walking a little closer so as to not shout in the literal hospital wing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh hello ladies, sorry it's terribly busy today, a sixth year was brought in after taking a couple stunning spells.”  Madame Pomfrey said, her voice coming out grave, and all three girls exchanged looks before clearing their throats.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How… unfortunate.”  Daphne sighed, the distaste so clear in her voice that it almost made Pansy chuckle.  Almost.  Madame Pomfrey didn’t seem to catch onto that as she sighed and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it was.  Just sit over there, I’ll be with you in just a moment.”  Madame Pomfrey said, patting the back of Pansy’s hand.  She gave the woman a wry smile and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.”  She mumbled, and the three of them sat around the corner, which gave Pansy enough time to reflect.  And the more she did, the more anxious she got.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, are you okay?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy paused for a moment.  She wanted to be, she certainly wanted to </span>
  <em>
    <span>say </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was, because she was sick of Draco ruining shit for her.  But she wasn't.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly?”  She asked, and Tracey nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  She said, and Pansy took a deep breath, feeling tears prick at the corner of her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  I’m not.  Like yes, I’m madder than hell at Draco for joining the dark lord but also… it's heartbreaking to watch the boy I’ve been friends with since I was 11 become the person he is right now.  Just last month he was trying to get better, he was in a loving relationship… and then something snapped and I can’t stand it!”  Pansy spat, her voice rough with emotion by the end of the sentence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, honey.  I know.”  Tracey whispered, and Pansy took in a shaky breath and hung her head.  She felt bad that she couldn’t help Draco.  But it never occurred to her that she felt guilt over this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to help him… but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I know that no one can, Lucius has him wrapped so tightly around his finger that there's no getting through to him.  He threw away his first real, happy relationship for a mission he doesn’t even want!”  She said, her voice getting louder with every word.  Daphne reached over and squeezed her knee.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh.  Hey.  You did what you could.”  She said gently, and Pansy looked over helplessly.  She didn't agree with that.  As much as writing him off was completely justified, she'd left him alone when he was obviously scared and struggling himself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But did I really?  I wrote him off for so long-.”  Tracey put a hand on Pansy’s arm to silence her before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With good reason.  But Pans… you saved his life.  He was going to drown himself in black lake and you saved him.  You’ve done what you could do.”  Tracey reasoned, and Pansy nodded and wiped her eyes carefully with the back of her hands, as if her makeup wasn’t already streaking down her cheeks.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why does it feel like I gave up?”  Pansy asked quietly, hating how pathetic her voice sounded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, hun.”  Daphne sighed, resting her head on her shoulder as Pansy closed her eyes.  She thought she’d feel better after dueling Draco, but instead she just sort of felt like a dick.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0050"><h2>50. Chapter 50</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Today seemed a little off, like from the moment that Pansy had gotten out of bed this morning.  Her dorm was empty before she woke up, and yet she couldn’t manage to find her friends anywhere.  She’d been looking around the dungeon for about ten minutes before she realized they’d probably just gone up without her.  But when she got up there, the only one she could even locate was Daphne, odd considering they’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>fucking together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  Where’s Tracey?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne scoffed and turned the corner, walking a little bit faster then she had before, as if she was trying to shake Pansy off of her trail.  From what she could tell, Daphne had been crying, or she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>insanely </span>
  </em>
  <span>high, but Pansy was going to go with the first one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I know that?  I’m not her keeper.”  She said bitterly, and Pansy sucked in a deep breath.  So it was something deeper then just Pansy not meeting them in the common room to walk up to breakfast.  Daphne had helped her through so much this year, it was only fair she returned the favor, so she reached out and encircled one of Daphne’s hands, slowing her almost jog to a stop.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, calm down.  I was only asking because I know you two have the same schedule, and I was wondering if she’s going to be joining us for breakfast.”  Pansy said, and Daphne huffed and shrugged, not looking back to meet Pansy’s eyes.  This was getting annoying</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.”  She snapped, and Pansy rolled her eyes and turned Daphne around to look at her, despite the girl fighting her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you’re just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>peach </span>
  </em>
  <span>this morning, aren’t you.”  Pansy said with a chuckle, and Daphne let out a huff and turned on her heel again.  So she was intent on making any conversation difficult today, okay.  Pansy could work with that, Merlin knows that had been her move for years.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck off.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  Was this how insufferable she had been when she was hiding her secret?  Probably, but that didn’t make it more acceptable.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So are you going to tell me what's wrong or am I gonna have to pull a Potter and use poorly made veritaserum on you?”  Pansy joked, but clearly Daphne didn’t hear the light tone of voice, because she shot Pansy, a glare that could freeze a burning building.  Pansy was nervous at this point, rare was the day that Daphne was vulnerable.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t.”  She said, and Pansy put up her hands in surrender.  Daphne was absolutely right, she wouldn’t do anything like that, that would be a terrible idea, you can never get your information from someone who's under something that’s not made correctly…. Potter was lucky that his had worked at all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t.  I’d make sure it was good quality, I’d want it to work after all.”  Pansy said, winking at her, and Daphne huffed and shook her head, trying to walk away again.  She didn’t get far before Pansy caught her by the elbow and pulled her back, holding strong onto her arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>such </span>
  </em>
  <span>a fucking bitch.”  Daphne growled, and Pansy nodded.  She could call her a bitch all she wanted, that didn’t mean that she was going to go anywhere.  Whatever this was was clearly bothering Daphne, and what kind of a friend would she be if she just pretended like she couldn’t see it happening.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  Now, talk to me.”  She said, and Daphne set her jaw and shook her head.  Wanker.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  If she’d been forced to bear her feelings at one point, then so was Daphne, fair was fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Daphne Greengrass</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  You forced me to talk to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Now talk to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy insisted, trying to sound firm.  It apparently worked a bit, because Daphne chewed on her lip and glanced around before grabbing Pansy’s arm and yanking her into a less populated hallway before she spoke again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is far too public of a place.”  She whispered loudly, and Pansy rolled her eyes and chuckled.  Seriously?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I’m sorry, are you not the girl who asks about orgasms in the hallway?”  Pansy said, feeling like the double standard was a bit funny.  Daphne’s cheeks pinkened a bit and she smacked Pansy’s shoulder.  Okay, that was fair, she’d earned that one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!”  Daphne huffed, and Pansy sighed and looped her arm through Daphne’s, knowing there was only one place to have a truly private conversation in this school.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, come with me then.”  She said, pulling Daphne around the castle until they reached the stairs that would lead to the room of requirement.  Was she practically dragging Daphne?  Yeah.  Was she going to stop?  No.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going.”  Daphne asked and Pansy sighed as they climbed the final set of stairs.  Wow.  Dating a Gryffindor and having to go up to their commons had done wonders for her lungs, she was barely even winded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Room of Requirement.”  She said, and she heard Daphne make an odd sound behind her as they turned the last corner and came to a stop in front of a blank wall.  Perfect. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Room of what-.”  Daphne started, and Pansy sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.  She’d really forgotten to tell them about a lot, but she could see how she left this one out, after all it wasn’t like the entire school knew about it and she didn’t want to expose it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear I’ve told you about it.”  Pansy insisted, and Daphne chuckled and shook her head, clearly at least a little amused by what was going on.  Good, maybe she’d be more likely to open up if she was laughing.  Pansy doubted it, but it was worth a shot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I doubt that, but whatever you say.”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She suspected that Daphne didn’t believe there was a room here, and she didn’t really blame her, it didn’t look like much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need a </span>
  <em>
    <span>door</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said, and a moment later the door appeared, and she heard Daphne let out a little gasp.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What in the name of Salzar’s ballsack-.”  She shuddered, and shook her head.  Daphne’s descriptions were scarring to say the least.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never say that again.  Just say ‘what the fuck.’  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy sighed, and she actually heard Daphne chuckle, which was probably a good thing… even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>because she was tormenting her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My way is more fun.”  Daphne insisted.  Alright, well that simply wasn’t true, and Pansy knew it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your way is mentally taxing and should be classified as a crime.  Come on.”  She said, pulling Daphne into the room.  She heard the girl let out a chuckle as she glanced around before leaning up to Pansy’s ear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like this is your murder room.”  Daphne whispered loudly, and Pansy chuckled and pushed her face away from her ear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What a coincidence, I thought it was Ron’s murder room the first time he forced me to come in here.”  She said with a chuckle, and Daphne gave her a funny look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ron did-.” Pansy held up a hand to silence her.  She forgot that she hadn’t actually gone into detail about where and how Hermione had asked her out… she for sure hadn’t told them that Ron orchestrated it for them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where do you think Hermione asked me out?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne blinked before sighing and nodding, like that made sense.  It did, there weren’t very many other private locations in the school where a conversation like that could really happen.  Not in the level of seriousness it needed to for that anyways.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”  Daphne sighed.  Pansy let her stand in silence for a moment before she sat down in one of the chairs and looked up at her.  This sort of felt like what she’d imagine a muggle therapist appointment might be, from what Hermione had told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So. Talk.  It’s soundproofed and no one can get in.  Sit down.”  Pansy said, patting the chair next to hers.  Daphne sunk into it and took a deep breath, drumming on her knees.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… okay.  Merlin, this is hard.  How did you know you were… into girls.” Daphne said quietly, and Pansy felt taken aback because Daphne looked so vulnerable and scared, and Pansy could tell this wasn’t just a </span>
  <span>random question.  It was something the other girl had been thinking about asking for some time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and Daphne shrugged and chewed on her lip, refusing to make eye contact.  Pansy hardly ever saw her like this, maybe when she used to fight with Blaise or when her sister’s condition got diagnosed, but those made sense… this was out of nowhere.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Humor me.”  Daphne insisted, and Pansy sighed and leaned back on her hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, when I tried to make out with Draco after the yule in fourth year and I spent the entire time thinking about how it might feel better to touch Fleur Delacour and kiss </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>lips, I started to get an inkling.  Plus when I started going to quidditch games to ‘watch the action’, when really I was just watching Cho Chang and Katie Bell.”  Pansy said with a smirk.  She remembered when everyone had thought that she and Draco were together, they teased her for how close of attention she seemed to pay to his games, but honestly she couldn’t have told them where Draco was on the field.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Okay.”  She mumbled, and Pansy cleared her throat, deciding she should push her luck and push for an answer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shrugged and looked down at the ground, any signs of opening up suddenly gone.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No reason.”  She said quietly and Pansy sighed and put a hand on Daphne’s arm lightly, just enough pressure for her to look up at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne.  Please.  I promise I won’t say a word.”  Pansy said, and that gave Daphne pause for a moment. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  She asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Did she seriously seem like the kind of person who was going to talk about Daphne’s secrets?  Maybe in fourth year, but certainly not anymore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  She said, and Daphne took a deep breath, leaning forward a bit in her seat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… well I think I’m… well, I liked being with Blaise, but lately there's this girl, and I can’t get her out of my head and it's like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.  It’s like… when she looks at me I forget how to breathe.”  Daphne said, and the words took the wind out of Pansy.  She’d never expected Daphne to ever say something like that, something so uncharacteristic.  But here they were, and she was sitting there, hands balled in the sleeves of her sweater, crying over a girl.  Merlin, Pansy was not equipped for this.  She sighed and sank down to sit beside her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I know her?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shot her a look.  Okay, boundary received, loud and clear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is private.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy let out a low whistle.  Seemed like a bit of an overreaction, but she had reacted the same way when people asked if she liked people before her and Hermione were dating, she guessed that it was perfectly fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.  And what about this girl, do you know if she shares your desires.”  Pansy said carefully, grimacing because even </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>could admit that was an awkward way to say it.  And the way Daphne was looking at her told her that the other girl thought so too.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Merlin, just call it a crush, don’t go all Victorian on me.”  Daphne groaned and Pansy sighed and nodded.  Fair, completely fair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, crush.”  She reasoned, and Daphne sighed and rested her head in her hands before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.  She seemed like she might, always hanging on me, resting her head in my lap, or mine in hers, on my shoulder, falling asleep next to me… in the common spaces of the school, obviously.  But over break, she did something that just threw me for a loop.”  Daphne mumbled, and then it clicked and Pansy’s jaw dropped.  Oh.  Oh this made </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect </span>
  </em>
  <span>sense, of course it was Tracey.  Daphne wasn’t jealous that Tracey had slept with Theo, she was upset that Tracey had chosen Theo and not her.  Merlin, that had to hurt, but also she had to approach this very carefully.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did she sleep with our longtime friend and then write him off not 15 minutes after the conversation?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne’s silence was enough of an answer to begin with.  And the way she started chewing on her cuticles, like she’d done since first year when she felt guilty about something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Maybe.”  Daphne mumbled, and Pansy let out a long sigh and scooted a little closer, careful not to touch Daphne at all yet, she wasn’t sure if a hug was in the cards or just a conversation to get her to open up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne…”  Pansy started, trying to stop her from spiraling because she could tell from the look in her eyes that she was starting to.  Daphne pulled at her hair a bit and rested her head in her hands before speaking again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I’m a prick, aren’t I?  I have two healthy friendships and I have to go and fuck up one of them by catching feelings that she probably doesn’t even return!”  She groaned, looking up at Pansy between the slats of her fingers.  Pansy sighed and rubbed small circles on the other girl’s back.  That wasn’t what she was going to say at all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I was going to say that you should talk to her about this.”  Pansy tried, and Daphne let out an inhuman sound and shook her head.  She sounded like a dying horse.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I do believe I’d rather die.”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy wrinkled her nose at how she’d said that.  It sort of sounded like something out of a muggle princess book, it was enough to make her sick.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  What's the worst that could happen?”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne shrugged and looked away, resting her chin on her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She could hear me talking.”  She joked, and Pansy sighed.  Obviously, Daphne was trying to cope but still… </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph-.”  She tried again and Daphne shook her head and looked away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m sorry, but no.  I can’t do that to Tracey, I simply can’t.  I’ll just… ignore it, eventually it's bound to go away, right?”  Daphne asked, and she sounded so scared and so lost that Pansy wanted to say yes, and affirm that eventually the feelings would fade, but she honestly didn’t know.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not if you’re falling in love.”  Pansy admitted quietly, and Daphne groaned and covered her face, shaking her head at the mere idea of that, which was fair.  None of her friends were great with the idea of falling in love.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Merlin, anything but that.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.  Calm and collected, patience, she was doing this for Daphne’s well being.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, would it be so bad?  I could think of a million people worse to fall for, Tracey’s nice, she’s funny, and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>love you, she’s a million times better than Blaise ever was, and even if there isn’t anything romantic behind her intentions.  Meaning, she probably wouldn’t write you off if you were to tell her what you’ve been struggling with.”  Pansy said, willing her voice to come out soft and gentle.  It must’ve worked, because Daphne didn’t respond like she wanted to kill her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know but…”  She trailed off, and Pansy let her for a moment before it became clear that she wasn’t going to finish her sentence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what?”  Pansy prompted, and Daphne shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I don’t want to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>person.  We saw how the last pair of best friends dating worked out at this school.  One’s dating you and the other’s…. Ron.”  Daphne said, and Pansy laughed at that.  To compare the connection that Daphne had with Tracey to Ron and Hermione felt funny, like obviously the two Gryffindors had had a connection, but they didn’t share a bed most nights or stay up until 3:00 AM just talking, something Pansy had witnessed from the two girls on many nights.  It was just… a different kind of love, she supposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but you and Tracey are both on the same page on a lot of things.  Hermione and Ron had a lot of differences that work well in friends but make it very hard to have a relationship actually work.”  Pansy explained, and from what Hermione had told her she was right about that.  They were good as friends, just not as partners.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  And also… I’m terrified.  What will my parents say?”  Daphne asked in a small voice and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  From what she had heard, the Greengrass’s had cut off all work with the Parkinson family upon hearing of Pansy getting disowned, but she supposed that could’ve been performative.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.  What have they said about me?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shrugged, tucking her face against Pansy’s shoulder and letting out a shuddery sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That your parents don’t deserve to even have a child if they’re gonna kick her out for something she can’t control, and that they should be less worried with their status and more worried with their child’s happiness.”  Daphne mumbled, and Pansy was silent for a moment.  She hadn’t known they’d said that, that was rather sweet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what makes you think it's any different for you?”  Pansy asked quietly, and Daphne thought for a moment and shrugged, pulling her knees to her chest.  She was scared, Pansy got that, but maybe if she could make her get out of her own head for a moment… this could be over a whole lot quicker.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… I honestly don’t know if I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>bi, or if it's just… Tracey.  I think she’s just special, I don’t know.”  Daphne said and Pansy smiled and nudged her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>called Hermione hot a few times.”  Pansy pointed out, and Daphne sniffled and shrugged, leaning against Pansy lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was mostly to get under your skin.  Yeah, Granger’s a good looking girl but she’s far from my type.  Way too naggy for my liking.”  Daphne sighed, curling her face further into Pansy’s shoulder.   Pansy chuckled in disbelief and flicked Daphne’s forehead, a small but fair punishment for calling her girlfriend naggy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!”  Pansy protested, and Daphne held up her hands in defense and chuckled, letting a watery smile spread across her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn’t an insult, it was merely an observation, and you can't tell me it isn't true, you used to hate her for that very reason, might I remind you.”  She sniffled, and Pansy huffed and rolled her eyes.  She’d handle that later.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyways.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  Back to you.”  Pansy said, and Daphne’s slight demeanor of joking dropped back to being glum as she sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well... I mean... She could think I was gross.”  She pointed out, and Pansy shook her head.  That made no sense, Tracey would never think that over something like this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She won’t.  She didn’t with me-.”  Daphne cut her off and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was different with you.  You didn’t fall for any of us-.”  Pansy smirked and nudged her with her shoulder again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course not, I’ve got standards.”  Pansy joked, and Daphne rolled her eyes and lightly smacked her arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you’re a wanker.”  She said, but Pansy saw the slight turn up into a smile, and she knew she’d won this round.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  But hey… I’m not saying today, or even tomorrow… but you should confront this at some point.  You saw what happened to me when I ignored it.”  Pansy said, and Daphne chuckled and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were impossible to be around.”  She said, and Pansy glared down at her.  Maybe helping her friend wasn’t all that needed… maybe she could… no.  No, she was not going to hex her friend over this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad we had this talk, wanker.”  Pansy said, keeping her voice a monotone, and Daphne sighed and nodded, resting her head back against Pansy shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She mumbled, and closed her eyes.  Okay, Pansy decided, she’d let Daphne rest for a moment before she enacted her plan.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>“I cannot believe you’re forcing me to go to a quidditch game on the same day that I cried my eyes out to you about a crush.  It seems a little insensitive.”  Daphne whined, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, shoving her lightly.  There was only so long that she was going to let Daphne milk that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, you’re here because I don’t want to be alone, plus I let you borrow that sweater you keep trying to steal.  Two, it's good to get out… get some fresh air, you know?”  Pansy said, very aware that her voice squeaked a little high on her last word.  She may or may not have not told Daphne that she also invited Tracey.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy…”  She said, her voice coming out like a warning.  Pansy glanced over and saw the look of suspicion on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  Pansy asked, hoping she wasn’t sweating as much as she felt like she was, that would be a dead giveaway.  Daphne leaned a little bit closer, practically pressing her face against Pansy’s arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell did you do?”  She hissed, and Pansy looked away from her.  She could stall for a couple more minutes, this had to work.  Thinking about sleeping in a room with that much tension was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>appealing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  What do you mean?”  Pansy said, her voice coming out like a nervous chuckle.  Daphne leaned back a bit and narrowed her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got a guilty look on your face and you keep looking around.  What did you do, Parkinson. I’ll hex it out of you”  Daphne warned, pulling out her wand and pressing it to Pansy’s chest.  She swallowed heavily and glanced around because now would be the </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect </span>
  </em>
  <span>time for Tracey to just… pop up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t-.”  Pansy started, but before she could finish, or Daphne could hex her, she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, guys.  Sorry I’m late.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy let out a quiet breath of relief as Daphne leaned away from her again and looked up at Tracey in surprise, and a little bit of fear.  It was fair, she hadn’t been expecting this intrusion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's okay, Trace.  Here, I saved you a seat.”  Pansy said, scooting down the bench so that Tracey could sit between them, all while avoiding Daphne’s very effective death glare, which she knew was completely earned.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you sat in it?”  Tracey asked, sounding a little bit confused.  It was fair, that wasn’t how someone normally saved a seat but she figured she could use her school pariah status to her advantage, plus Daphne would’ve gotten suspicious if she sat with a large space in between them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People don’t love sitting next to me, so it was a pretty genius idea actually.”  Pansy explained, and Tracey chuckled and nodded, sinking into the open seat and immediately turning her gaze on Daphne, who looked pale even for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, are you okay?  You look a little-.”  Daphne was quick to cut her off, and she turned even further away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.  Thank you.”  She snapped, and Pansy noticed how taken aback Tracey looked at the outburst.  She took that as her queue and feigned a shiver and stood up, rubbing the back of her neck.  She wanted to be anywhere but here because it sort of felt like she was intruding… on the stupid thing </span>
  <em>
    <span>she’d </span>
  </em>
  <span>done.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, I’m cold I think I’m gonna run back to the dungeon and-.”  She could feel Daphne’s glare before she felt the tug on her -well, technically Hermione’s- scarf.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even think about it, you slimy little weasel.”  Daphne said through gritted teeth and Pansy let out a low whistle and settled back in her seat, pulling her scarf from Daphne’s grip as she glared over at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rude.  Uncalled for.”  Pansy huffed, crossing her arms.  Tracey looked super lost as she turned to Daphne yet again, but she still couldn’t get her to look over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay wait, how is Pansy slimy?”   Daphne asked, and Daphne glanced over at Pansy who had an idea.  She pointed at her own sweater, and she seemed to get it from the vague hand gestures, thank Merlin.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… she promised to let me borrow her designer sweater and then she didn’t even give it to me.”  Daphne lied, and Tracey nodded, like that made sense.  It didn’t but Pansy was relieved that she bought it for the moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.  So it's a crime of </span>
  <em>
    <span>fashion</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey said with a smirk, clearly trying to get Daphne to laugh, but it didn’t work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something like that, yeah.”  She said, her voice monotone.  Tracey sighed and leaned down to try and catch her eyes, but nothing was working.  Merlin, had Pansy actually broken her by not telling her what the plan was?  Probably.  She was a dick, and if Daphne forced her to sleep in the common room for a week she wouldn’t blame her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I noticed you’ve been avoiding me.  Care to tell me the reason for all that?”  Tracey asked gently, and Daphne shook her head and trained her eyes back on the game, though Pansy knew she couldn’t care less about it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.”  She sighed, and Tracey scoffed and leaned back, her patience seeming to fail a little bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?  You’re gonna be like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>about it?”  Tracey asked, and Daphne looked away from her, resting her chin on her hand.  Pansy felt bad because this </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>how it was supposed to go, putting them together was supposed to handle the awkwardness… but it only made it far worse.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  Daphne mumbled, causing Tracey to let out a frustrated sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>anything to you!”  Tracey protested, and Daphne’s gaze snapped back to Tracey, eyes blazing.  Well, Pansy thought, this could either go really well, or very very poorly.  Her bet was currently on the second one, but things can change.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You slept with Theo!”  Daphne finally said, her voice breaking out of the monotone.  Tracey looked over at Pansy for help, but she didn’t meet her eyes.  Pansy cleared her throat and looked away, bouncing one leg up and down to keep herself busy and avoid the drama…. The drama she sort of created, but still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... And?”  Tracey asked, and Daphne sighed and shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And… and… and nothing, I guess you just…. You slept with </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Daphne said, her voice coming out venomous.  Tracey looked taken aback, and plenty hurt, which was fair.  It sounded like Daphne was trying to shame her, which she wasn’t, Pansy knew that, but she didn’t have the right words.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay? And you slept with Blaise, and Pansy’s sleeping with Hermione,  I don’t understand what you’re getting at here.  We’ve all had sex, so why am I getting villianized right now, D?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy swallowed nervously.  It was rare to hear Tracey getting this annoyed at Daphne.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you deserve so much better then Theodore </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>Nott!”  Daphne snarled, and Pansy felt an uncomfortable amount of eyes turn to look at them.  Oh wonderful, now they had an audience.  Merlin, Pansy had been dumb about this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... And just who do you think I was supposed to pick.” Tracey said, her voice dangerously calm.  Daphne swallowed heavily.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey-.”  She started, but Tracey shook her head, her fists clenched in anger as she began to speak.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  Tell me.  Tell me who out of my </span>
  <em>
    <span>non-existent </span>
  </em>
  <span>suitors I was supposed to pick?  The Ravenclaw boy who only dated me because he thought I was easy?  Goyle, who wouldn’t stop harassing me?  Whatever random </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>boy put an enchanted camera in the wall when I was showering so he could have something to jack off to?  Tell me which out of those wonderful suitors, those </span>
  <em>
    <span>kings of industry </span>
  </em>
  <span>I was supposed to pick, huh?”  Tracey snarled, and Pansy looked at her with wide eyes.  This was getting out of hand and a little bit scary, and she wonders if she should step between them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”  Daphne said in a small voice, and Tracey shrugged, still clearly fuming and leaned closer to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then tell me what you meant.  No stupid jokes, no little puns, just be </span>
  <em>
    <span>honest </span>
  </em>
  <span>with me and tell me what you meant because I genuinely don’t know what I did wrong here.  Why am I in trouble for sleeping with Theo?”  </span>
  <span>Tracey asked, and Daphne sighed and shook her head.  Oh, this was not going well.  Pansy really wished she had a time turner to go back and stop herself from arranging this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not in trouble, and you didn’t do anything wrong, it's just-.”  Tracey leaned down closer to her face, practically red with her anger.  Oh merlin, she actually thought Daphne was saying she was easy or something, this was not going well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just what?”  She hissed, and Daphne flinched away.  Pansy stood up and cleared her throat, wanting to take the attention off of Daphne as quickly as possible.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey, I don’t think here is the right place-.”  Tracey held up a hand to cut her off and swung around to face her.  Angry Tracey, how great.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s never the fucking time or place, Parkinson!  I just want her to tell me why my best friend has been avoiding me for </span>
  <em>
    <span>days</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey said through clenched teeth and Pansy pinched the bridge of her nose.  This was so much more fragile than she had treated it, Pansy could see that much now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that easy.”  Pansy tried, and Tracey raised an eyebrow and narrowed her eyes at Pansy.  Oh great, this was exactly how she’d wanted to spend her saturday.  Yep.  Seems wonderful.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how would you know?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy sighed and cleared her throat.  She didn’t think it was right to just say ‘because she told me before she told you because I convinced her to.’  That sounded sort of rude in a way.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just trust me.” Pansy said, reaching out for her arm, but Tracey was quick to yank it away and cross hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I-.”  Tracey started, but Daphne clapped her hands together, forcing both girls to look down at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just shut up!  Merlin, the reason I got bent out of shape is because…  Fuck.”   Daphne said, resting her head in her hands.  Pansy wanted to reach around Tracey, to rub Daphne’s shoulder and remind her that it’s gonna be okay, but she couldn’t.  And Tracey clearly wasn’t amused because she stood up and huffed, pulling her jacket tight around her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, I’m done with this.  I’ll see you two back in the dorms.”  Tracey huffed, and started storming down the seats.  Pansy shot Daphne a look and stood up, gesturing for her to follow, which she did with some apprehension.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey, wait!”  Pansy called, pulling Daphne behind her as quickly as possible to catch up with the girl, who was going surprisingly fast.  Must be because she’s fueled with righteous anger, but still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck off, Parkinson.”  Tracey snarled over her shoulder and Pansy rolled her eyes.  This was never going to get resolved if everyone just kept walking away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey Davis!  Stop right fucking there for a minute.”  Pansy called, and it seemed like she was stern enough because Tracey stopped and turned around, her fists still balled in anger, which was fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She snapped, and Pansy turned to Daphne and hauled her forward with one arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell her.”  Pansy instructed, and Daphne shook her head.  In the back of her mind there was a voice yelling at her to stop, to leave her alone, that she hated when people had done this to her, but for some reason she just couldn’t listen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t-.”  She started, and Pansy was speaking before she could stop herself again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no one down here, no one is going to hear you and if you do I’ll oblivate their asses so can you please tell her so we can stop fucking fighting.  It’s exhausting and I know you’re scared, but please.”  Pansy </span>
  <span>pleaded, and Daphne was silent for a moment before she sighed and rubbed her temples.  She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrified</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that much was clear to Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.  Ask me.”  Daphne said, her voice shaking despite her obvious attempts to keep it steady.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's the reason that you’re so mad I slept with Theo?”  Tracey asked, her words coming out annoyed and clipped.  Daphne closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and Pansy could practically see her forcing herself to open up, it was almost painful to watch.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because in the back of my mind, I always thought it might be you and me.”  Daphne said, her voice coming out so quiet that it was barely above a whisper.  Pansy saw all the anger and frustration slowly drain from Tracey’s posture as it got replaced with confusion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... What?”  She asked, and Daphne swallowed heavily and shifted back and forth on her feet, looking anywhere but Tracey’s  eyes.  Pansy really didn’t blame her, this was probably the hardest part of it all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was a part of me that thought maybe the reason you were so picky was because you’d already met someone you wanted… and I’ve come to realize that I’m in love with you.”  Daphne said, her voice coming out rough with emotion, and Pansy’s heart wrenched.  Oh Merlin, she hadn’t been ready… and Pansy pushed her… this was exactly what she hadn’t wanted to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne, I’m-.”  Tracey started, and Daphne shrugged her hand off of her shoulder and sighed, wiping under her eyes.  It was in that moment that Pansy realized Daphne was actually starting to cry.  Shit, this had been a bad idea, Pansy shouldn’t have pushed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay.  I overreacted, and I know that.  I’ll get over it, and I’ll let it go.  I’ll see you two later.” Daphne mumbled, and turned on her heel, quickly walking back to the castle.  Pansy saw the concern grow on Tracey’s face as she tried to take off after her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph-.”  Tracey called, but Pansy shook her head.  Daphne needed a break, and a long one at that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey, let her go.”  Pansy sighed, grabbing the girl gently by the elbow and pulling her back.  She could see the emotional conflict running over Tracey’s face and it did make sense, after all her friend had just confessed to being in love with her.  It was a lot to unpack, but forcing Daphne to talk about it more wasn’t the right option.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But she didn’t even let me speak.”  Tracey said, sounding super lost.  Pansy moved her hand to rub on Tracey’s back lightly, trying to soothe her through the confusion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She didn’t even want you to know.  I shouldn’t have pushed her, I know what that feels like and it's not pleasant.”  Pansy sighed, and Tracey looked over at her.  Pansy refused to meet her gaze.  She felt like shit, this was essentially what Crabbe and Goyle had done to her, on a much smaller scale, but still.  She should’ve let Daphne take her fucking time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you know?”  Tracey asked quietly and Pansy thought for a moment about lying and saying she had no idea, but it felt wrong.  This felt like something that she could handle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She told me earlier today.  She’s terrified that she’s going to lose you.”  Pansy explained and Tracey looked shocked by that as she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, Daphne could never lose me, not ever, unless she like...  became a death eater, but the chances of that are slim to none.  She’s been there forever… I </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>can’t imagine my life without her.  If she were to die tomorrow… I don’t think I’d ever stop crying.”  Tracey admitted.  Well that was a good sign.  Not a good thing that could happen, but a really good sign that she didn’t hate Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… so…”  Pansy trailed off and Tracey sighed and shrugged, chewing on her lip.  This was clearly conflicting for her, and Pansy wasn’t expecting an immediate response, she just wanted to get a feel of the waters.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know how I feel, I genuinely don’t.  Obviously I’m still a little pissed that she got mad and gave me the cold shoulder for losing my virginity, but I can at least understand why now.  And I don’t think Daphne would be a horrible person to love… I actually think a relationship with her would be really good, for whoever the next person she gets with is.  As long as it's not Blaise.”  Tracey said, her nose wrinkling.  Pansy could not agree more, Blaise wasn’t fit for romantic consumption.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, we are </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>letting her do that again.”  Pansy groaned as she remembered all the tear filled nights when Daphne would recount hers and Blaise’s epic love story.  It was positively sickening.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Agreed.  He treated her like shit, seriously.  Every time they were together I just wanted to drive my fist through his stupid, prettyboy jaw.”  Tracey said, her jaw clenching.  Pansy nodded in approval, she would’ve paid good money to see that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should’ve.”  She said and they were quiet for a long minute before Tracey took a deep breath and turned to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So when should I talk to her about it?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy thought for a moment.  There was the party tonight, and so they’d have alone time...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You might have the dorm to yourselves tonight.  If Gryffindor wins, I’ve been invited to the victory party.”  Pansy said, and Tracey looked at her in confusion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But Hermione isn’t even on the team.”  She said, and Pansy shrugged.  She’d blackmailed Potter, and when that hadn’t worked, she’d asked Ginny who did invite her.  And then she was chastised by her girlfriend, but it was worth it because she would get to spend quality time with her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh, the seeker owed me a favor… plus I’m friends with the Chaser.”  Pansy said with a smirk and Tracey sighed and threw an arm around her shoulders before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long are you gonna hold the botched potion over Harry’s head?”  She asked, and Pansy thought for a moment and shrugged.  She’d never considered when she should finally let a near death experience go.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Until it stops bearing me fruit, obviously.” Pansy said with a grin, and Tracey shoved her lightly and let out a laugh, a large contrast to 10 minutes ago.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you are terrible.”  Tracey said, when her laughter died down.  Pansy shrugged because honestly, she wasn't going to argue with that.  Blackmailing Harry </span>
  <em>
    <span>might’ve </span>
  </em>
  <span>been terrible, but it was also lucrative.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know.  But please… talk tonight, talk alone, and just get your shit out there because I cannot </span>
  <em>
    <span>deal </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you two fighting, it's like the worst stand off ever, no one is happy, and it's far too dramatic.  Kick Millie into the common room if she’s in there, I don’t care, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>handle this</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said, trying to sound like she didn’t care about the outcome, and she didn’t, so long as they all stayed friends… that part she was actually worried about.  And Tracey must’ve picked up on this from how quickly she pulled Pansy into her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, I know what you mean by that, and I love you too, you fucking asshole.”  She mumbled against Pansy’s jacket, and she let out a long breath and hugged the girl back.  This had been far too emotional of a day.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course I love you, T.  And… no matter what you choose, just know I’m neutral, I’ll be happy either way.  But if you let her down, make sure it's easy.” Pansy instructed as she let go of Tracey.  She meant that,  if Tracey hurt Daphne in any way it was going to end in a duel and she really didn’t want that right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be as gentle as possible if that's the outcome.”  Tracey promised, and Pansy didn’t doubt that.  It didn’t mean she wasn’t going to say it, but she didn’t doubt it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  Because I’m not above hexing you.”  Pansy warned, with a joking smile.  Tracey sighed and rolled her eyes before tucking her face back against Pansy’s chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know.”  Tracey sighed, and they made their way inside.  Pansy already could tell Gryffindor was going to win, Ravenclaw didn't stand a chance at this point, and she hoped she'd have time to apologize to Daphne before she was expected at the Gryffindor tower.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0051"><h2>51. Chapter 51</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Honestly, she was starting to wonder if this party was even worth it after 15 minutes of arguing with the portrait.  She should’ve just had Ginny let her in, less drama that way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>La chevalerie est la chemin de la vertu.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy sighed, tapping her foot.  The Fat Lady merely sniffed and turned her head.  For a piece of painted canvas, she was being a real pain in the ass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>you know that, but I’m not letting you in here.  I shouldn’t have opened the last time that girl let you in.”  She said again.  She’d been saying that for the last ten minutes and it was really starting to get on Pansy’s nerves.  There was no need to shout her private business to the entire school.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have to, I said the password, now let me through.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>La chevalerie est la chemin de la vertu.”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy said, trying to sound authoritative, but the Fat Lady was having absolutely none of it, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>turned up her nose.  Rude.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in your life.  Sorry.  Go back to your dormitory before I alert someone.”  She instructed, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Who was she </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to tell?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>La chevalerie est la chemin de la vertu.”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy said again, and the Fat Lady narrowed her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you even know it?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She didn’t really feel like getting into this with a painting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got friends in high places, Fat Lady.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>La chevalerie est la chemin de la vertu.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy said more firmly, but the portrait scoffed and crossed her arms.  What a bitch… if someone who’s dead can still be considered a bitch.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not happening.”  She said, and Pansy opened her mouth to speak again, but she felt a light tug on the back of her shirt and whipped around to see three first years standing nervously behind her.  She honestly hadn’t heard someone coming… How long had they stood there?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, do you mind if we get by.”  One of them asked, rather meekly.  This amused Pansy because…. Weren’t they supposed to be the brave house?  Instead of saying this though, she simply stepped aside and allowed the kids to face the portrait.  She could probably use this to her advantage.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead.  This bitch isn’t going to let me in.”  Pansy huffed, and the Fat Lady clutched her chest at the profanity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Language!  There are children present.” She said, sounding scandalized.  Pansy rolled her eyes, because honestly that is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>least </span>
  </em>
  <span>scandalizing thing that Pansy could’ve said to her.  Plus, she’d earned it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Sorry.”  She mumbled, and the first years looked up at the portrait</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>La chevalerie est la chemin de la vertu.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  The head of the three first years said, and Pansy watched the Fat Lady’s face morph to one of kindness as she smiled down at the young ones.  Bitch.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have a nice evening, children.”  She said, and Pansy slid in right behind them, smirking to herself when she heard the Fat Lady begin to yell.  Honestly, what was she expecting?  Once she was in the common room, she scanned until she saw the back of Hermione’s head.  Lovely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey beautiful.”  Pansy murmured, sliding her arms around Hermione’s waist, not shocked when the Gryffindor jumped in surprise.  She turned around, no doubt ready to chew someone out for doing that without her consent, but the second her eyes fell on Pansy her gaze softened and a smile played on the corner of her lips.  Merlin, it was enough to knock Pansy’s breath away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans!  How did you manage to get in here?”  Hermione asked, leaning in to press a quick kiss to her girlfriend’s lips.  Pansy smiled against it, and though it might sound cheesy, she realized just how long it had been since she’d actually kissed her… almost a full day and a half, that’s far too long.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Walked.  Ginny gave me the password.”  Pansy said when they broke apart, and she chuckled at the scandalized look on her face.  It was adorable sometimes, how intent she was to enforce rules she regularly broke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Merlin, now we’re gonna have to change it.” Hermione groaned and Pansy’s face fell.  If she’d just leave it, it would make seeing her girlfriend a whole lot easier because she wouldn’t have to sneak as much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  Pansy started, and Hermione put a finger to her lips before she spoke.  Honestly, that was Pansy’s least favorite way to be made to be quiet, it made her feel like some kind of child.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t give me that look, a policy is a policy, you’d do the same with Slytherin.”  Hermione pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Why did she have to make this argument logical?  It wasn’t like it </span>
  <em>
    <span>demanded </span>
  </em>
  <span>it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would, but that doesn’t make me like it any more.”  Pansy huffed, and Hermione reached up and lightly cupped her cheek, making her look down into her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Poor baby.  I’ll always let you in, you know that.”  She assured her, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  That wasn’t the problem, she liked having the knowledge that she could get in… even if that sort of defeated the purpose </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but it was nice to have the ability to come and go as I pleased.”  Pansy whined, and Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, clearly wanting her girlfriend to not make a big deal out of this.  Fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Oh the fat lady would never let that fly.”  Hermione said, and Pansy bristled as she remembered how long she was stuck outside of here because of fucking painting.  Ridiculous.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She hardly let me in the room.”  Pansy grumbled, and Hermione raised an eyebrow in surprise.  What was surprising about that?  That was part of why the portraits were there… at least from what Pansy could tell, maybe someone had just told her that first year and she took it to be a fact.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Really?”  She asked, and Pansy rolled her eyes and nodded.  She never knew she could get so annoyed at a portrait.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I had to run in after some first years, before she could slam the door in my face.  I said that damn passcode six times, and everytime she turned her fucking nose up at me.  The nerve of that woman.”  Pansy huffed, and Hermione’s amusement only seemed to grow.  It was irritating, to see her girlfriend laughing at her, Pansy had the urge to just reach down and push her lips back to neutral, but decided against it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s… something.”  Hermione responded, and Pansy huffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“At least ours doesn’t ask questions!”  Pansy pointed out, and this seemed to concern Hermione a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“He should at least ask a few!”  Hermione said, and Pansy shrugged.  None of the Slytherin’s had an issue with it, really.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s… discreet.  We appreciate it, we like our privacy.”  She explained, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Don’t doubt it, what with your lucrative little firewhisky smuggling businesses.”  She pointed out and Pansy scoffed and shoved her lightly.  It was a business venture, very important for the Slytherin house… sort of school unity in a way.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Hey, don’t be like that.  We probably helped supply tonight.”  Pansy said, and Hermione thought for a moment and shrugged, seeming to agree with her.  Good, Pansy couldn’t think of another way they would’ve gotten this much firewhiskey up here without the help of the twins </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>without getting caught.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“I don’t doubt you on that.”  She said, and Pansy nodded curtly</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Good-.”  She started, but was interrupted by a mass throwing itself on her back, nearly making her fall over.  She saw a flash of red hair and relaxed.  Just Ginny </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!” Ginny shouted, and Pansy turned around to give her a proper hug, trying to ignore the very overpowering smell of fire whiskey, which put daphne's party level to shame.  That was saying something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Gin, hey.  Congrats on today.”  Pansy said, touselling the redhead's hair.  She beamed, taking another sip from her cup.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Thank you!  And you look </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”  Ginny said, and Pansy noticed how her eyes were a little vacant and her cheeks were a little pink… firewhiskey, if not more.  Pansy chuckled when Ginny placed a hand on either of her shoulders and forced her to move a bit to the music, pulling her a little too close for Hermione’s comfort, apparently.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, firecracker.  Hands to yourself or go find Luna, Merlin knows you brought her.” Hermione grumbled, putting an arm between the two witches to separate them.  Pansy wrapped her arms around Hermione’s waist and rested her chin on the top of her head as Ginny pouted at them.  Okay, so drunk Ginny is touchy, noted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re no </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>, ‘Mione.  I wasn’t even gonna do anything.”  Ginny whined, and Hermione rolled her eyes and gave her a look.  Pansy thought it was cute that Hermione was being so protective, but also very unneeded.  This was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ginny Weasely</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the girl who had helped her come to terms with herself </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>had been the first one to notice Pansy’s feelings.  She wasn’t going to do anything of the sort.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still.” Hermione insisted, and Ginny rolled her eyes</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine…” she sighed, but she lingered, which Pansy didn't mind, they were all friends.  But apparently, Hermione wanted their time to be a bit more private.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Gin.”  Hermione said, her voice becoming a little more firm.  Ginny sighed and held her hands up in surrender, backing away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin!  Fine, fine.”  Ginny sighed, and she turned around, walking back into the party.  Pansy watched her go and smiled to herself when she saw the redhead wrap her arms around Luna’s waist, kissing the side of the girl’s head.  Sweet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, the goal for this party is to make it out without breaking a knuckle.”  Pansy said, bringing herself back to the conversation and Hermione raised an eyebrow at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Why do I feel like that's going to be a hard goal to reach?”  She asked and Pansy shrugged.  She wouldn’t be wrong, while Pansy had worked to get over her issues with a lot of the Gryffindor house, there were still ones who just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>bothered </span>
  </em>
  <span>her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“If McLaggen says one fucking thing, he’s losing his dick.”  Pansy said, flicking some hair out of her face.  Hermione stifled a chuckle and looked up at her</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“That’s… interesting.”  She breathed and Pansy nodded.  She meant that, sometimes there’s no reasoning with guys like Cormac, you’ve just got to use brute force.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“What?  Clearly it's what he thinks with, maybe if it's removed he can start using his brain.”  Pansy said and Hermione rolled her eyes.  What?  She hadn’t said anything that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>, nothing that deemed that response to be valid.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“You are the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione chuckled, and Pansy shrugged, realizing just how close they’d gotten to each other during their conversation. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“You love it.”  Pansy said, leaning even closer.  She watched as Hermione’s eyes darted between her lips and her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never said I didn’t.”  Hermione murmured, putting a finger under Pansy’s chin and finally closing the distance between them in a firm kiss that made Pansy’s knees a little weak.  She leaned into it and was about to pull Hermione a bit closer when she felt a hand on her ass.  At first she chuckled, odd of Hermione to be so brave in public, before she realized that both of Hermione’s arms were around her neck meaning that it was impossible for that to be her.  She set her jaw and reluctantly pulled away from Hermione, grasping the wrist of the asshole as hard as she could.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Oi!  Hands to yourself, what the hell?!”  Pansy said, her teeth clenched as she turned around to see whose wrist she’d just grabbed, and was not surprised to see Cormac, who wasn’t looking down at her yet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I was just-Oh.  Parkinson.  I’m sure you </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>the free action, never seemed to mind when Malfoy copped a feel.”  He sneered, and Pansy shook her head in disbelief.  Those things were not correlated, she and Draco had had an image to uphold, Cormac was just being a creepy pervert in the middle of a party.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“What I did in my past…. Relationships… is none of your business.  If you ever do that again you’ll lose your hand.” Pansy growled, but she apparently didn’t sound all that intimidating because Cormac merely laughed and took another sip of his drink.  Had she lost her edge?  That was a serious question, that look alone used to send people running</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right.”  He scoffed, but before he could do or say anything else there was a tall body in between them. Pansy was shocked to look up and see the back of a ginger’s head. Weasley?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi.  Mate.  Back the hell off.”  Ron said, backing Cormac up with a coldness that even </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy </span>
  </em>
  <span>was surprised by.  Cormac was quick to recover however and rolled his eye, pushing Ron’s chest a bit.  The redhead didn’t move an inch.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Or what?”  Cormac asked, and he simply shrugged and crossed his arms across his chest.  Pansy had no idea what his face was doing, but it must’ve been something that wasn’t normally done because Cormac’s cocky expression quickly fell as Ron leaned closer to him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or I’m gonna make when Hermione punched you look like a spa treatment.  Fuck off, McLaggen.  Before I do something we both will regret.”  Ron said, his voice coming out low and measured.  Pansy’s eyebrows shot up, and she had to admit she was impressed.  She’d never seen Ron Weasley look intimidating, it was a good look on him.  Cormac rolled his eyes and pushed back off the wall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Whatever, she’s not worth it.”  He snapped, storming back into the thick of the party.  Ron turned around and walked back over to the two girls, and Pansy felt compelled to… well she didn’t want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>hug </span>
  </em>
  <span>him, but shaking his hand felt far too formal, so she settled for quickly giving him a half hug, which seemed to surprise him as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Ron.”  She muttered, and she felt him squeeze her back before he pulled back and sighed, still looking a little annoyed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anytime.  Let me know if he does anything again, I’ll sic Harry on him.”  He muttered, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What was the golden boy going to do?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… okay?”  She said,  and with that Ron walked off and Pansy felt herself getting spun around, and she met Hermione’s concerned gaze.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright, love.”  Hermione asked, cupping both of her cheeks and examining her face as if she’d been attacked.  She chuckled, it was sweet, but entirely unneeded so she lightly grasped both of Hermione’s hands and brought them to her lips, dropping a light kiss on each of them.  Pansy always forgot how perfect her hands were… warm and soft and just the right size to fit with hers.  Like they were made for each other.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh perfectly.  He’s far from the first guy or girl to think that I’m ‘open for business’.”  Pansy mused, and apparently this wasn’t a good joke because Hermione let go of her hand and tilted her chin up to look at her.  Pansy was shocked to see anger brewing behind Hermione’s deceptively calm expression.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want a list along with their houses and their years.”  She said, her voice coming out calm.  Pansy was quick to shake her head and bring both of Hermione’s hands back to her lips to kiss them in an attempt to calm her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, no.”  She said, but Hermione clearly wasn’t wanting to listen to that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to make sure they know that if they ever touch you again, they’ll be dealing with a lot more than just a slap from Daphne.”  She insisted,  and Pansy rolled her eyes.  That seemed like a bit much</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermi-.”  She tried again, but Hermione held up a hand to silence her </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m serious.  I will tear them limb from limb.  Seriously, where do they get off thinking they can touch my girlfriend’s ass?  They don’t see </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>going around doing that to people!  Or Ron, or Harry or Ginny.  It’s downright despicable and-.”  Pansy gripped the collar of Hermione’s shirt and pulled her close, absolutely relishing in the firm and slightly harsh tone of her girlfriend’s voice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin,</span>
  </em>
  <span> have I ever told you how hot you look when you’re ranting?”  Pansy mused, using her free hand to toy with the hair at the nape of Hermione’s neck as she spoke.  She looked taken aback, and blinked, taking a long moment to answer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… um… No.”  She said, and Pansy grinned and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.  Honestly, how could she </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Literally, the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”  Pansy assured her, and she watched as Hermione’s brain tried to comprehend what she said.  Well, it couldn’t be all that out of the ordinary for her to hear a compliment, but Pansy decided to let her take her time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No.  Really?”  Hermione finally asked, her voice squeaking a little bit on the last word.  Pansy nodded and smirked.  She’d found Hermione’s ranting to be rather attractive for quite some time now, but it never occurred to her to voice it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  Pansy murmured before capturing Hermione’s lips in another kiss, smiling into it as she felt Hermione breathe a surprised gasp against her lips.  She wrapped her arms tightly around her waist, letting the party fall away from them both as she leaned Hermione up against a wall, sliding her tongue past open lips, shivering at the feel.  That was one thing that never got old about her, sure Hermione’s skin was always warm, in an extreme contrast with Pansy, but her mouth was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  It wasn’t unwelcome, nor unpleasant, Pansy thought it would be much worse if it were freezing.  She let her hands slide down Hermione’s back, landing on her ass, hearing as Hermione swallowed a small moan and leaned a way, putting a hand against Pansy’s chest to separate them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Behave.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out a little breathless as she slid Pansy’s hands back up to her waist.  Pansy rolled her eyes and tucked her face against Hermione’s chest, breathing in the comforting and familiar smell.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I’m not doing anything that other people aren’t already doing.”  Pansy responded, and Hermione chuckled and ran her fingers through Pansy’s hair as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure people are doing a whole lot worse than this, but still.  We’re prefects, we need to keep it civilized.”  She pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Yes, Hermione had a point, but again it wasn’t a very nice one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  How boring.”  Pansy murmured, pressing a light kiss behind Hermione’s ear.  She smiled a little to herself when she heard Hermione’s breath pattern change.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are going to be the </span>
  <em>
    <span>death </span>
  </em>
  <span>of me.”  Hermione sighed quietly, and Pansy chuckled.  She couldn’t imagine that she was the most stressful thing in Hermione’s life, she was best friends with the chosen one for Merlin’s sake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hardly, dear.  I make you loosen up, which is good for your health.  Worrying about Potter’s demise constantly cannot be good for your heart.”  Pansy pointed out, and she was a little proud of herself that she managed to give Hermione pause for a moment.  She was right, there was no way worrying that much was good for her girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No need to bring logic into this.”  Hermione mumbled, looking away from her.  Pansy used one finger to tilt Hermione’s gaze back to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, but if it will make me win then I think I should.”  Pansy mused, and Hermione raised an eyebrow </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, so we’re fighting now?”  Hermione asked, a dangerous look on her face.  Fuck it, Pansy thought, lets see where pushing this will go.  She put a smirk on her face and leaned a little closer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d call it a debate but-.”  She wasn’t able to finish before Hermione was on her, licking into her mouth as she backed her into an open door.   Pansy let out a strangled noise against her mouth.  What noise?  Pansy really couldn’t say, she was far too disoriented.  Hermiione kept walking her back until the backs of her knees connected with a bed and she sat, Hermione crawling on top of her.  This went on for another minute or so, with Pansy shocked at the sudden change of demeanor, honestly, what had happened to them being prefects?  Herminoe slowly pulled away and smiled, rubbing little circles on the back of Pansy’s neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No rebuttal?”  Hermione asked, clearly thoroughly amused by how disoriented Pansy was.  But she was pretty sure Hermione would be to, if she shoved her into her dorm and climbed on top of her.  Hardly a fair way to fight.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… I… Uh…”  Pansy stammered, and as she tried to articulate a response, she was shoved flat on the bed, Hermione’s face appearing a mere inch away from hers, triumphant smirk already on it.  How was she supposed to think under these circumstances… under this </span>
  <em>
    <span>woman</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm, for someone so articulate, you seem to be at a loss for words.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy was about to answer when Hermione ducked down and pulled a patch of Pansy’s skin on her neck between her lips, worrying it with her teeth.  Pansy closed her eyes and let out a shuddery breath at the feeling, digging her nails slightly into her girlfriend’s shoulders.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Fine.  Fine, you win.”  Pansy breathed as Hermione released the skin of her neck and chuckled against it, causing Pansy to shiver beneath her before leaning up, supporting herself with an arm on either side of Pansy’s head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.”  She murmured, and leaned back down to press another kiss to the side of Pansy’s neck.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>There was something about Hermione’s bed that just always made Pansy sleep better, she never wanted to leave it.  That was only more of a feeling when she had Hermione’s arms wrapped tightly around her, face pressed between her shoulder blades until she began to stir</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, gorgeous.”  Hermione murmured, dropping a kiss onto Pansy’s cheek.  She smiled and turned over, wrapping her arms tighter around her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, your morning voice is one of my favorite things in the entire world.”  Pansy said, tucking her face tighter against Hermione’s chest.  She let out a sleepy chuckle, rubbing little circles on Pansy’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  She asked, and Pansy nodded.  From the first time she’d heard it she’d loved Hermione’s morning voice.  It was soothing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She muttered, and burrowed in to go back to sleep, but she heard another chuckle come from Hermione’s lips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to get up, love.”  Hermione murmured as her fingers slid through Pansy’s hair.  Why would she ever want to do that?  This was already heaven for her, going back to the dorms meant dealing with the mess she’d made with Daphne.  Not something she was looking forward to at the moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.”  Pansy yawned, and she heard an amused chuckle from Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  She said, obviously trying to be firm.  What was the point it was… probably about five in the morning… no one was really looking for them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who's gonna stop me from sleeping here?”  Pansy asked, lifting her head to look into her girlfriend’s eyes.  Hermione rolled siad eyes and slowly sat them both up, despite Pansy’s groans of disapproval.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“McGonagall if she catches wind of it, and you’re still on watch to make sure you’re behaving so you can stay a prefect.  Now get up.”  Hermione insisted, and that was enough to have Pansy’s eyes shoot open.  The last thing she needed was another talk from McGonagall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Fine.”  She grumbled, pulling herself upright. She did her best to search for her clothes in the dark of the room, feeling Hermione’s eyes on her the whole time.  Merlin, it would be a million times easier to just cast </span>
  <em>
    <span>lumos, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but she didn’t want to risk waking the roommates.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t that mine?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged, pulling the T-shirt over her head.  This was the tax.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make me get up early, I’ll steal your clothes.  You did this to yourself.”  Pansy insisted and Hermione chuckled and leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. Yeah, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>made her want to leave faster.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes you are so childish.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy shot her a quick smile.  Childlike wonder was supposed to be a good thing, even if Pansy’s had been ruined at a young age from her parents.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You love it.”  She said and Hermione nodded and tilted Pansy’s chin so she was facing her before dropping a quick kiss on her lips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.  I’ll see you later?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded. It was Sunday, Hermione always forced her to do her work for the next two days so she could go into the week relaxed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.”  She said and Hermione grinned as Pansy stood up</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect.”  She said and Pansy bent to press a kiss to her hairline before Hermione laid back down and curled up under her blanket.  Pansy crept out of the dorm, careful to be as quiet as possible.  She was mere inches from the door when she heard someone clear their throat behind her</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Parkinson.”  Pansy stopped in her tracks and her eyes widened because she knew that voice, and this could not and would not end well for her, she could feel it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Shit.”  Pansy sighed, and turned around to face a stern faced Professor McGonagall, who took in her rumpled state.  Pansy was already counting how many extra hours of detention she was probably going to have for this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Language, Ms. Parkinson.”  McGonagall snapped, rubbing her temples.  Pansy cleared her throat and looked down at her shoes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Terribly sorry, Professor.”  She mumbled and McGonagall sighed and waited for Pansy to look back up, not speaking again until she had her full attention.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Care to tell me what you were doing in the Gryffindor dorms?” McGonagall asked and Pansy felt the blood drain out of her face. No way she was leaving here with her prefect status, shit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… well…”. She stammered, and McGongall sighed and rubbed her temples.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t lie to me.”  She instructed, and Pansy sighed and tried to think of the best way to phrase this that would get her in the least amount of trouble.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was visiting someone.”  Pansy said, and it wasn’t technically a lie, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been visiting someone.  McGonagall sighed and shook her head, but didn’t seem to wish to argue the semantics of it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a way to say it.  Now, you understand you’re not supposed to do that?”  McGonagall asked, and Pansy was quick to nod.  Of course she knew the rules, she was a prefect.  She just didn’t choose to follow most of them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”  Pansy said, and she wasn’t lying.  Of course she wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be here, but that wasn’t going to stop her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  I believe that will suffice.” McGonagall said, and Pansy froze.  What?  Where was the detention?  The extra essay?  The trip to the headmasters?  The stripping of her post?  She was getting</span>
  <em>
    <span> nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>for this?  Impossible.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… you’re not going to punish me?”  Pansy asked in disbelief, and McGonagall shook her head.  This was unbelievable.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  I mean, I can’t even confirm you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>here </span>
  </em>
  <span>if someone asks.  The second you leave there's no trace.”  She said and Pansy was not following.  Professors could dock points there and then, why not just do it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?”  Pansy asked,  and McGonagall let out a heavy sigh, and it could’ve been a trick of the light but she seemed to roll her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I’m being nice, Ms. Parkinson.  Letting you off with a warning.”  She explained and Pansy blinked in surprise.  A warning?  Well,  she wasn’t about to question it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank you Professor.  You won’t regret it.”  Pansy said,  feeling relief wash over her when she realized she’d still be leaving her a prefect.  McGonagall nodded and forced a small smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just hope your… extracurriculars won’t be stopping you from doing your Transfiguration homework?”  McGonagall asked, her face looking pained on the word extracurriculars.  It was an awkward way to phrase it, Pansy could agree with that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not.”  Pansy assured her and McGonagall crossed her arms, looking down through her glasses</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, because I’m expecting it on my desk tomorrow morning.”  She said, arching a brow.  Shit, that was why Hermione had wanted to meet later, right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It will be, I swear.”  Pansy promised, and this seemed to appease her.  The professors stance went from disapproving to simply neutral in a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wonderful.  Now run along before I can change my mind.”  McGonagall said, and Pansy mumbled a quick thank you and started her trek down to the Slytherin commons.  Honestly, she’d been careless, and McGonagall’s response was way better then she had expected, and she must’ve been too focused on her thoughts, because she let the portrait slam shut behind her and winced a little.  That was loud.  She tried to sneak the rest of the way into the dorms, but she heard someone stirring and paused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there ever a time where you can come back from the Gryffindor dorms </span>
  <em>
    <span>quietly</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  I swear, you sound like a hippogriff bursting through the common room, impossible to sleep through.”  Daphne groaned as she walked out of their dorm, rubbing her eyes.  Shit, exactly what she had hoped would </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>happen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit, sorry, Daph.  I didn’t mean to wake you-.”  Daphne sighed and shrugged, running a hand through her hair.  Pansy took in the bags under her friend’s eyes, and the complete lack of her normal morning rough voice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Haven’t been asleep.”  She muttered, and Pansy knitted her eyebrows together in confusion</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, then why-.”  Daphne rolled her eyes and crossed her arms</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because there's more than just me in our dorm?”  Daphne said, her voice coming out a bit sharp, and Pansy looked over at Millicent’s sleeping form on the couch and it dawned on her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Millie’s sleeping on the common room couch… so I’ll take it that you and Tracey finally talked it out then?”  Pansy asked hopefully, and she was relieved to see Daphne nod</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We did.”  She said, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  Was that seriously all she was going to get from the conversation?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?” Pansy prompted, and Daphne shrugged, picking at her nails as she spoke</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And currently… currently, we aren’t anything because she needs time to think, which is fair I did spring this out of nowhere.  But… she fell asleep with her head on my lap at around three, and I hadn’t moved until I heard you coming down the stairs.”  She explained, and Pansy shook her head at this.  Honestly, better then she could’ve hoped for.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you feel better?”  Pansy asked, and she hoped the answer was yes so she could stop beating herself up, but Daphne sighed and merely shrugged</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know yet.  I still feel dirty, like I shouldn’t feel the way I do but, it did help to have Tracey tell me she wasn’t angry.”  Daphne admitted, sounding equal parts relieved and sad.  It was fair, Pansy could get behind that feeling.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can see how that would help.  C’mere.”  Pansy said, pulling her into a hug.  She felt Daphne relax against her for a moment before she pulled back, a small smile on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for um… for talking to me.”  She said and Pansy nodded.  It was only fair, she’s done the same for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.  What are friends for?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne sighed and nodded, before yawning.  Merlin, Pansy hoped someone could convince her to go to bed</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She said, and before Pansy could say anything else, they both heard their dorm door open to reveal a half asleep Tracey, shuffling out into the room.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph?  Where’d you go-Oh.  Hey Pans.  Good night?”  Tracey asked, rubbing her eyes.  Pansy smiled and nodded, taking in what Tracey was wearing.  One of Daphne’s sweaters and a pair of sleep shorts, it actually suited her quite well.  Not that she was taking a side either way in the decision, at this point she just wanted someone to decide something so she could figure out how to feel.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The best.”  Pansy said, and Tracey grinned and elbowed her ribs a little before she spoke, causing Pansy to yelp.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a feeling that's gonna be a standing answer the morning after you’re with Hermione.”  Tracey teased, and Pansy shrugged.  She’d never really thought about saying something else, that just felt so right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It hasn’t changed yet, so yeah probably.”  Pansy sighed, and she heard a small chuckle come from Daphne, who now loosely had her arms wrapped around Tracey’s waist, probably partially to keep her upright at this point, but the other girl didn’t seem to mind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two give me hope.”  Daphne said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Well that could mean a million things.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne gave her a nod before she began to speak, eyes closed, head tucked against Tracey’s shoulder.  Merlin, she was like… five seconds away from falling asleep on her feet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I mean if someone can turn Pansy Parkinson, who I had never seen be kind for longer then ten minutes unless she was stoned, into a person who stands up for people being bullied and slaps the hell out of Draco for being a dick… then that gives me hope.”  Daphne explained, and Pansy felt her face heat up a bit at the earnesty of Daphne’s words.  She hadn’t really thought of it that way.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… interesting reasoning, but thanks.”  Pansy said with a soft chuckle.  She wasn’t going to turn down a compliment from Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Daph, are you okay?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy looked over to see the blonde solidly asleep on Traceys arm.  The other girl shrugged, and that prompted Daphne to answer</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Just tired.”  She mumbled</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you not sleep that whole time?”  Tracey asked, and Daphne nodded.  It was a sweet exchange, one that wasn’t uncommon, but honestly it had Pansy wondering how she missed it.  It was so fucking obvious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to make sure you were comfortable.”  Daphne mumbled, her eyes slowly closing.  Tracey sighed and pulled her a little bit closer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, okay.  No.  Come on, let's put you to bed, hun.”  Tracey said gently, looping an arm around Daphne’s waist.  Daphne tried, in vain, to open her eyes fully and shake her head.  Pansy had to give her points for trying though.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She started, and Tracey shot her one look that effectively would’ve silenced anyone’s arguments.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey instructed, and that effectively stopped any more arguments from coming from her.  Well, they certainly act like a couple, Pansy thought to herself with a chuckle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Later, Parkinson.”  Daphne yawned, and then it occurred to Pansy she didn’t even have a blanket, and the common room was fucking freezing.  She mentally kicked herself for not grabbing one of Hermione’s sweaters instead of a t-shirt.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was gonna-.”  She started, and Tracey glared at her, effectively stopping any sort of argument that she was going to present.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can grab whatever you need in four hours.  Daphne is getting uninterrupted sleep and that is final, got it?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy nodded, a little bit surprised at how firm Tracey could manage to be for someone who normally was the level headed one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, okay.  I much preferred when you weren’t scary.”  Pansy said and Tracey scoffed and smacked her arm lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not scary!”  Tracey protested, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  If she wasn’t scary then she would’ve just told her to fuck off and walked right into the dorm.  Pansy stood by her statement.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span><br/>“Sure.  Sure you’re not.”  Pansy chuckled, turning away from the two retreating girls.  She swore to herself when she saw Millie snoring away on the larger of the two couches, before forcing herself to curl up on the smaller one, her lids becoming heavy with sleep… which would happen a lot faster if she wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>freezing</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  It was honestly as if Tracey could read her mind, because she felt a heavy blanket drop onto her a moment later and she burrowed beneath it, blocking out all sounds and lights that could bother her so she could get a few more hours of sleep in.</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0052"><h2>52. Chapter 52</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was honestly no reason why Pansy was taking divination, she didn’t even remember signing up for it.  Probably shouldn’t register for classes while high.  Plus, most people didn’t want to sit next to her which made divination a little bit more difficult.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this seat taken?”  Pansy heard someone ask quietly, and she glanced up to see Parvati looking down at her with a slightly sullen expression.  Odd, she almost religiously sat next to Lavender in this class, but Pansy saw no reason to lie and say the seat wasn’t open to her, so she moved her books and parchment over a bit to give her some room.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it's open.  But… don’t you normally sit next to-.”  Parvati gave her a wry smile and sunk into the seat, jutting her head to the side to where Lavender sat beside Ron Weasely, engaged in a conversation that looked far too deep for divination class.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wanted to sit by Ron today.”  She sighed, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  What an interesting development that Hermione had failed to mention to her.  Not that she really asked, everyone was allowed their own privacy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Interesting.  Hermione told me that they didn’t work out…”  Pansy said, trailing off to prompt Parvati to keep talking.  Obviously, if she was wrong about this there was going to be a correction.  She sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head.  Okay, so if there was no relationship then what was the problem?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not dating, but they are friends… she’s trying to get to know him better and understand why he asked her out in the first place.”  She said, and Pansy chuckled and raised her eyebrow because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>that tone.  She knew that look, and she understood exactly how Parvati was feeling right now.  Stuck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m assuming you’ve got your own theories.”  Pansy mused, and Parvati nodded and rolled her eyes, shooting a glare at the redheads back.  Honestly though, it registered more as sad and less as angry, so Pansy had reason to believe she wasn’t truly angry with Ron, just upset that Lavender was leaving her behind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s lonely and single and she’s available is my biggest one.”  Parvati spat, scribbling the date on the top of her parchment with so much vigor that Pansy almost had to laugh.  So, that was a sign of how much this was affecting her, because normally she wasn’t all that aggressive, at least in Pansy’s experience.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  That makes sense.” She mumbled.  She wasn’t entirely sure if she wanted to delve </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>deep into this discussion, but also… What else did she have to do?  It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>divination</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She could provide a half assed romantic council, it wasn’t that draining.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just… annoying.” Parvati huffed, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  That added more to her theory.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and Parvati shrugged and sighed, fiddling with her tea cup.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because she talks about him </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the time, it's like… I know the last guy you had interested in you was Seamus but that doesn’t mean every conversation we have needs to be about the boy who took you on </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>date </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>who you turned down because you had nothing in common.”  She sighed, and Pansy nodded, resting her chin on her hand.  It was interesting how in the past couple of days she seemed to have given more council to people then she ever had had time for before in her life.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it bothers you because she talks about it too much?”  Pansy asked, and Parvati shrugged, looking like she was probably hiding something.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mostly.”  She mumbled, and Pansy narrowed her eyes.  They weren’t going to get anywhere if Parvati was insistent on keeping information from her, how was she supposed to be helping?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so there's more.”  Pansy sighed, and Parvati nodded.  Okay, thats good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.... but I can’t talk about it.”  Parvati insisted, and Pansy let out a laugh a bit louder then intended, causing people to turn around to look at them, but she was quick to grimace at them until they turned back around.  Good.  Still got it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is so embarrassing that you can’t even tell me?  Obviously I’m going to keep it a secret, I’ve got my own shit going on.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright… It bothers me because I fancy her.”  Parvati mumbled, and Pansy nodded.  Was that supposed to be knowledge she couldn’t acquire herself?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I thought that was a given.”  She said, and Parvati looked at her like she might pass out.  Okay, so it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>supposed to be something she wasn’t able to figure out easily, got it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You knew?!” Parvati asked, sounding scandalized.  She shouldn’t, apparently everyone could tell with Pansy too and that worked out </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyone with half a brain and internalized homophobia knew.”  Pansy said, hoping Parvati could get the joke, but she was clearly too shocked that someone noticed her feelings for her best friend.  Apparently, Pansy had come to be a bit of an expert… plus being annoyed that she has a crush on a guy is a good start.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.  Is it obvious?”  Parvati asked quietly, and Pansy was quick to shake her head.  She wasn’t intending to scare the poor girl, more to reassure her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not really.  I’ve just been the person who had a crush on someone who I thought never saw me.”  Pansy explained, and this seemed to quell Parvati’s nervousness a little bit as she chuckled and set down her cup.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione used to talk about you, you know.  Like… a lot before the two of you were dating.  She still does.”  She said with a small smirk.  Pansy couldn’t deny the way that made her stomach flip a bit.  Of course her girlfriend talked about her but it was always interesting to hear it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Pansy asked, and Parvati nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  It was odd, because like… She didn’t really talk to us to begin with, you know?”  Parvati said, smiling a little bit to herself.  Pansy felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she ducked to hide the small smile on her face.  She didn’t need to show how happy knowing Hermione had been thinking of her all that time really made her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously.”  Pansy said, not wanting to sound rude, but she also knew Hermione wasn’t close to her roommates it was just common knowledge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But then she’d storm into the dorms and announce that you were infuriating and impossible, or she came in crying after that fight the two of you had… She had me look over that letter she sent to Ron’s mom, just to make sure it made sense -which was odd, its Hermione fucking Granger, she doesn’t need a spellcheck.  I think that's when I noticed she liked you.  You don’t call someone alarmingly pretty if you aren’t at least a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>gay for them.”  Parvati reasoned, and Pansy snorted.  She’d almost completely forgotten about that letter, and all the chaos it had caused in her mind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair point.”  She mumbled, but Parvati wasn’t finished exposing how into her Hermione had really been.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then when she came back she told us about how you’d ran out halfway through the holidays, and she was wearing this green sweater and holding a picture of you, and I think that's when Lav caught on because she insisted on helping with some grand romantic gesture, but I don’t think she did Lavender’s plan of asking you out because I never saw any doves in the great hall.”  Parvati said, and Pansy grinned and raised an eyebrow.  A grand romantic gesture, huh?  For sure wouldn’t have been Hermione’s style, she probably would’ve rather fed herself to a hippogriff.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she asked me out in the Room of Requirement, which Ron forced me to.  I'm a little shocked you didn't know that.”  Pansy said, chuckling a bit at the thought of Hermione doing that kind of a grand romantic gesture.  It just wasn’t in her nature.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She values her privacy.”  Parvati reasoned, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  They were not here to discuss her relationship… technically they weren’t even here to discuss </span>
  <em>
    <span>Parvati’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> crush, but it had to be done.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, but back to you.  You could try… talking to Lavender?”  Pansy offered, and Parvati was quick to shake her head, looking a little ill at the thought.  Pansy couldn’t see why, it would be easy, they were together all the time anyways.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Parvati said firmly, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  For someone who needed help, she sure was being difficult.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”  She asked, and Parvati shrugged, and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I’m not gonna lose my best friend over a crush.”  She said with a soft chuckle.  Pansy could vibe with that, Daphne had had the same mindset, but if this was truly a best friend, then Lavender wouldn’t leave her just for having feelings that are out of her own control.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, fair, fair.  But if you’re not going to talk to her, you can’t fault her if she develops feelings for Ron.”  Pansy reasoned, and she saw the panic on Parvati’s face, and she didn’t blame her.  It was hard to talk about it, but it was even harder to watch them fall for someone else.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that’d kill me.”  She confessed, and Pansy nodded.  She could remember how it felt when she thought that the girl she had a crush on was getting feelings for Ron Weasley, it was not a comfortable thought.  But to be fair, Pansy had overreacted and it hadn’t been the case, this was a slightly different situation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then you know what you have to do, Patil.”  Pansy said, and she saw the conflict on Parvati’s face before she sighed and nodded.  Honestly, pansy was trying to help even if it seemed like she was trying to insight panic in the Gryffindor.  She was slowly realizing that keeping things bottled up was not the way to go.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate that you’re right.” Parvati said, looking down at the table.  There was a long, rather uncomfortable silence before Pansy cleared her throat, and decided that she could easily be the one to break it. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know, must be infuriating.  So anyway, your leaves?”  Pansy asked, really wanting to get back to class for the first time… ever.  Mostly she just wasn’t in the mood to talk about the appeal of Lavender Brown anymore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right!  Right.”  Parvati said, looking down into her cup.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>There was something inherently nice about being able to hold Hermione’s hand in the corridors, Pansy had always thought so.  They were so warm, and she was always freezing… plus it was making her realize that she hadn’t been around her much this week.  No wonder she’d felt a little bit on edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel like I’ve hardly seen you recently.”  Hermione sighed, leaning up to press a kiss to her cheek.  Pansy smiled and squeezed her hand.  She knew that was true, except for that one night, Pansy had been rather busy making sure that Daphne and Tracey were staying on good terms and being an unbiased person for Daphne to bounce her feelings off of.  It had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>exhausting</span>
  </em>
  <span> to say the least.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, me too… But Daphne and Tracey have been dealing with some stuff so I’ve been trying to be a good friend and help them out.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione looked up at her with a smirk, gently elbowing her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I don’t believe it.  Pansy Parkinson has gone soft.”  She joked, and Pansy gasped.  Just because she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t mean she had to </span>
  <em>
    <span>say </span>
  </em>
  <span>it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up!  I’ve always been soft for my girls.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded at this.  They walked silently for a few minutes down the crowded corridor before Hermione cleared her throat to speak again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's part of the reason I love you, you know?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked, and Hermione shrugged, leaning into her a bit more as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re an asshole to some people I can’t deny that, but you’re so… different with Daphne and Tracey, it's like you can tell that those are your two people, and it's quite beautiful.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’d do anything for them-.”  Pansy started, but she was interrupted by a very loud scuffle around the corner.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-YOU FUCKING DYKE.”  Theo roared, and Pansy paused, clenching her jaw.  She’d been called that word enough to know it feels terrible.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell?”  Pansy murmured, and she pulled Hermione around the corner to see quite a spectacle.  Theo holding Daphne off the ground by her collar as she kicked at him.  Pansy felt her blood go cold because honestly… what the fuck was his problem?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“GET YOUR GODDAMN HANDS </span>
  <em>
    <span>OFF </span>
  </em>
  <span>OF ME, NOTT!  I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!”  Daphne shouted back, shoving Theo off of her, causing the boy to stumble across the hall and hit the wall.  He pushed off and snarled, getting right back into Daphne’s face.  Pansy was speechless, this all seemed surreal for a Thursday afternoon.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>anything?  You stole my girl!”  Theo boomed, and Daphne let out a snort and shook her head at him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, Tracey is not your girl, she doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>belong </span>
  </em>
  <span>to anyone!  And you fucked this up on your own, don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>begin </span>
  </em>
  <span>to blame me!”  She snapped, and Pansy felt her brows furrow.  Wait, that had to mean...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t walk away from me, I wasn’t finished.”  Theo growled, following Daphne closely as she walked into the bathroom.  Pansy let out a heavy sigh and ran her hand through her hair.  On one hand, this had nothing to do with her and Daphne might get mad at her for interfering.  On the other hand… she’d be damned if she let Theo be a dick right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.  This is gonna be bad.  I’ll meet you-.”  Pansy started, but Hermione put a hand on her arm and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell no, I’m not gonna leave you alone.  Plus… This kinda seems like something two prefects should handle as well as two of Daphne’s friends.”  Hermione said quietly, and it sort of made Pansy’s heart flip when Hermione referred to Daphne as a friend.  It was nice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  Pansy sighed, and they turned their attention back to the fight.  If it was going to get bad, they might as well observe so they could get a good report done.  They followed the two into the bathroom -a bit of weird place for Theo to follow a girl into, but still-</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-You’re gonna leave her alone because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t want to be with you.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Theo said, as if he was speaking to a stupid person, and it was enough to make Pansy’s blood boil.  She was about to storm in there and defend Daphne, maybe hex Theo a few times, when she felt a hand on the back of her sweater, holding her back, and she glanced over in time to see Hermione give her a quick shake of her head.  She never got to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>fun.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, that's where you’re wrong.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>chose </span>
  </em>
  <span>me, Nott.  That's what you’re so bent out of shape about.  You lost.”  Daphne said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.  This was the first she was hearing of Tracey finally making a choice either way, wow.  She was happy for them, they’d be good together.  But of course, Theo had to ruin her happy thoughts with his grating voice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>manipulating her.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  He sneered, and Hermione’s brows furrowed together as she tried to take a step forward to interfere.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay hold on-.”  She started, but Pansy put a hand on either side of her waist and pulled her back.  As much as she also wanted to interfere, now was not the time for that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay out of it, Granger.”  Pansy murmured in her ear, and Hermione sighed and nodded, fiddling with her wand.  Oh, that was a good idea, having it drawn already.  Pansy dug in her robes for a moment before she got a grip on her wand, letting her robe sleeve cover where it was in her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it.”  The Gryffindor sighed, and Pansy turned her attention back to the spectacle in front of her, where Theo had basically turned purple with rage, even though Daphne hadn’t even had the chance to respond.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you fucking kidding me, Nott?  I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>manipulating </span>
  </em>
  <span>her, I’m showing her that she deserves more then the bottom of the fucking barrel.  More then a guy whose gonna sympathize with Draco </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>Malfoy.”  Daphne sneered, and Pansy was almost a little bit proud of her.  Yes, she was a prefect and yes, she shouldn’t be encouraging fighting… but also, she hadn’t seen Daphne angry with a really good reason in a while, it was good to get that out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t deserve her!”  Theo shouted, and the room was silent for a moment as Pansy watched Daphne’s fists curl, and for a moment she thought that the other Slytherin was going to throw a punch, but instead she squared her stance and looked up at Theo.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know!  I know I don’t deserve her but for whatever reason she chose me and I’m not going to screw it up, and I’m not going to lose her so get out of my way, I’m done with this fucking back and forth.”  Daphne spat, trying to push past him to get out of the bathroom, but he stood in front of her.  Rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  He said, his voice low and angry.  Daphne shook her head and tried again to move around him, but he wouldn’t let her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Theo, move.”  Daphne tried again, and he stood strong, crossing his arms and setting his jaw.  Pansy could already feel that this wasn’t going to end well, and she fumbled next to her before getting a grip on Hermione’s hand and squeezing it lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t push me, Greengrass.”  He growled, and Daphne rolled her eyes.  Honestly, Pansy didn’t blame her, from what she could tell Daphne hadn’t even done anything wrong, Theo was just pissed with no good reason.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get out of my-.”  Daphne started, and Theo shoved her back and pressed his wand to her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“CRUCIO.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>CRUCIO</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Theo roared, and Pansy’s eyes widened as she saw the first and then the second spell hit Daphne.  She let out a blood curdling scream and dropped to the floor, and the room was silent, except for her whimpers and cries as she writhed from the pain.  Pansy’s feet unstuck from the floor and she ran over.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“DAPHNE!”  She shouted, and kneeled next to her, pulling the shaking girl against her chest.  Daphne’s eyes were glassy and full of tears, and she looked like she was going to pass out or throw up at any moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy I… I didn’t mean to.”  Theo said softly, and Pansy felt anger roar inside of her.  She grasped around for her wand before realizing she’d left it in the library, so she glanced up at Hermione and cleared her </span>
  <span>throat.  She wasn’t shocked to see Hermione’s facial expressions were cold and angry, it fit her house to be so righteously angry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione.  Now.”  Pansy said, her voice low and angry.  Hermione nodded curtly and raised her wand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>immobulus.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Hermione said, and Theo crumpled to the ground, unmoving with the spell.  Good, Pansy thought, he can’t get away with it now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It hurts…. Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>merlin </span>
  </em>
  <span>it burns.  I-I can’t.”  Daphne whimpered, and Pansy ducked down and pulled her close to her chest, running her fingers through her hair.  Merlin, this was so much worse than what she’d had happen.  Like yes, she’d been outed and stalked by her parents but she’d never gotten hit by an unforgivable curse, not since she was a child, but she didn’t like to think of that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shh, hey.  Hey it's gonna be okay, I’ve got you.  Hermione, go get help.”  Pansy said, barely keeping her tears at bay.  Hermione looked so lost as she glanced down at where she still had her wand trained at Theo.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She started, and Pansy shook her head.  She could easily handle Theo on a good day, this would be child’s play.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If he gets up, I’ll handle it but go get help!  Dumbledore, Pomfrey, I don’t fucking care just go!”  Pansy said, knowing that she sounded a little more angry then expected but Hermione seemed to understand that it was just the severity of the situation, plus Pansy could worry about how to apologize later.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pan-Pansy am I gonna die?  Because it feels like I’m going to die and I’m not ready-.”  Daphne gasped, but Pansy didn’t let her finish her sentence.  She hauled Daphne’s rigid body even closer to her, moving to cradle her head against her neck.  She was trying her best to minimize any visual or physical stimuli, because maybe that would make the curse have less effect.  She wasn’t sure, and it was at that moment that she sort of wished she’d paid attention to the phony Defense teacher they’d had 4th year that had taught them about the different unforgivable curses.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not gonna die, Daphne.  You’re not gonna.  I won’t let you.”  Pansy said firmly, and she meant it.  Nothing was going to happen to Daphne, at least nothing more.  Daphne let out a choked sob and clung harder onto Pansy’s shoulder, letting out a fresh shudder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I just… I didn’t even -</span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck-</span>
  </em>
  <span> I didn’t even do anything to him!  He saw…”  She trailed off, and Pansy realized that she was going unconscious so she gently tapped Daphne’s cheek until she awoke with a groan.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  Hey!  Daphne.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Daphne Greengrass</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Stay with me, what did he see?”  Pansy asked gently, and Daphne swallowed, clearly trying hard to fight against the curse and remain conscious.  Pansy held her tighter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He saw Tracey kiss my cheek after class and he… he lost it… I think I’m going to pass out.”  Daphne said, her voice getting shakier by the minute.  Pansy settled down cross-legged and pulled Daphne up onto her lap.  She was not going to let her friend go unconscious from an unforgivable curse, hell no.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, hey!  Stay with me here, Hermione went to get help, they should be back at any moment.”  Pansy insisted, and as if by some sort of unspoken magic, the bathroom door swung open again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!”  Hermione called, and she looked up to see her flanked by McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey, both of whom looked a bit horrified at the image in front of them.  Pansy didn’t blame them, one of their students was on the ground unconscious and the other was crying and writhing in pain.  She let out a small sigh of relief and handed Daphne off to Madame Pomfrey as McGonagall hauled Theo to his feet by his shoulder practically dragged him out by his ear, clearly beyond pissed at what had happened.  Pansy got off the floor and quickly wrapped her arms around Hermione, feeling a bit of relief to be holding someone who wasn’t moments away from unconsciousness.  She buried her face in Hermione’s neck and sighed, honestly considering just letting out a few sobs right now, but she decided she had to stay strong for at least a bit longer.  She pulled back and did a cautionary wipe under her eyes before she spoke again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone needs to tell Tracey.”  She managed, and Hermione looked over her shoulder, and Pansy saw the remorse in her eyes as she jutted her chin towards the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Something tells me she already knows.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy turned around to see Tracey frozen, pale as a sheet, staring at where Madame Pomfrey was gathering up Daphne and carrying her out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trace.”  Pansy said, walking over to her.  She wasn’t going to be the one to touch her first, grief affected everyone differently, but when Tracey threw her arms around her, she also wasn’t going to not hug her friend back before releasing her to look into her eyes.  Tracey looked lost, confused in a way she never had before.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans… what… who?”  Tracey couldn’t even get the words out, and Pansy didn’t blame her.  She brought a hand up, gently resting it on one of Tracey’s shoulders.  Partly for comfort, partly because she knew she was going to need to hold Tracey back from completely destroying him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Theo.”  She said softly, and Pansy watched as Tracey’s demeanor went from scared to absolutely miffed as she tried to storm over to where Theo was still lifeless, but Pansy was quick to grab her arm.  She didn’t need more people getting hurt today.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna murder him.  I’m gonna turn his fucking face inside out-.”  She started, but Pansy held strong onto her so she couldn’t get away.  She didn’t want to have to write an infraction on her friend, the rage was justified but that didn’t mean that it was allowed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, hey.  Breathe.  She’s stable, they’re gonna make her better okay?  She’s gonna be okay.”  Pansy insisted, and Tracey’s struggling stopped and she slumped back against Pansy.  Pansy understood the want and need to defend people she loved, hell, she’d punched a guy in the face for so much as insulting Hermione but… she couldn’t let Tracey get in actual trouble because Theo was a douche.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She tried, and Pansy shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mere.”  Pansy said, and pulled her back into a hug, slowly realizing just how little she actually hugged Tracey.  She didn’t know why, they were around each other all the time, maybe she just wasn’t touchy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>got together.”  Tracey mumbled into Pansy’s shoulder, and she had to laugh.  That was painfully obvious.  She pulled back and cupped Tracey’s cheeks gently, wiping away tears with the pads of her thumbs.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll say… didn’t even have time to tell me.”  Pansy said, and it was supposed to be joking but Tracey apparently wasn’t there, because her face fell even more as she rested her head back against Pansy’s chest.  Yeah, in hindsight maybe trying to jest with the girl whose girlfriend had just been hit with two unforgivable curses was not the best move.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I asked her out during our free period, we were going to tell you tonight, I swear.’’  Tracey insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>care </span>
  </em>
  <span>how long it would’ve taken them to tell her, she just cared that they were happy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not mad.”  She said, and Tracey looked a little taken aback.  She couldn’t tell why, they’d had secrets before, everyone was entitled to them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Tracey asked and Pansy nodded.  She was just relieved that her friends had been able to find some happiness, relieved that she wouldn’t have to play matchmaker anymore or fight to keep Daphne away from Blaise.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How could I be?  I didn’t tell you guys right away with Hermione either… plus I pushed Daphne way more than I should have, I could understand if she didn’t want to talk to me about anything personal for a while.”  Pansy said, and she was telling the truth.  She honestly thought that Daphne would never have told her if she had her way,but judging from the look on Tracey’s face, that wasn’t completely correct.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You actually were the first person she wanted to tell.  Thought it would be nice to share it with her friends.”  She said, and Pansy raised her eyebrow and fought the smile that was threatening to come on her face.  It was fair though, her friend considered her to be someone trustworthy enough to tell about a new relationship.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sappy.”  Pansy said with a snort, and Tracey chuckled and nodded, wiping the tears off of her cheeks.  It didn’t do much because her eyes were still actively shedding a lot of tears.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, so unlike her.”  Tracey said, and before they could finish any more of their conversation, Pansy felt a light tap on her shoulder and was surprised to see that Hermione was back.  She thought she’d seen her accompanying Pomfrey to the hospital wing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans? Tracey?”  Hermione asked, and Tracey looked up too.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  She asked, and Hermione gave her a sad smile and reached out to pat her arm in an attempt to show sympathy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re going to transport her to Saint Mungos, just to make sure any lasting damage is caught early.  Not just from the curse, when he shoved her earlier, she hit her head pretty hard on the wall, and she might have a concussion.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy cocked her head, a little bit confused.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Concussion?”  She asked, and she heard Tracey let out a heavy sigh next to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brain injury, Pans.  Seriously, you’re dating a muggle.”  Tracey sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, and Pansy rolled her eyes as she felt her cheeks burn.  She listened to most of what Hermione said, but sometimes muggle things slipped through the cracks, it wasn’t her fault.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She mumbled, and Hermione turned to face Tracey.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And, if you wanted, I could talk to the headmaster about allowing you to travel to visit her.  It would be hard to have a girlfriend in the hospital and have to be stuck here.” Hermione offered, and Tracey raised an eyebrow, looking a little surprised.  Pansy couldn’t tell if she was surprised at the offer or at how easily Hermione had called Daphne her girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How-.” Tracey started, but Hermione held up a hand to silence her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne sort of announced it in the hall when Theo was yelling at her for no reason.  Good for the two of you.”  Hermione offered, sounding a little bit awkward with that.  It made sense, she still didn’t know Tracey super well, but the gesture seemed to be well received.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… thanks Granger.” She mumbled, and Hermione nodded and turned to leave, but Pansy caught her sleeve.  It didn’t seem right that her girlfriend should be the only person asking, after all they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione turned around and raised her eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm?”  She asked, and Pansy scuffed her shoe on the ground.  Maybe it was right that it should just be Hermione, Dumbledore </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>like her better… but she remembered that this had nothing to do with reputation and everything to do with convincing the old man.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When you talk to Dumbledore, I’ll go too… might help to have two prefects convincing him… maybe you could get Ron to come along too?”  She asked, knowing that having two Gryffindors asking would greatly improve their chances of getting Tracey that permission.  Pansy mostly wanted to go along so there was a bit of diversity, not just one house asking.  Hermione nodded at this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.  I think he’d be willing to do that.”  Hermione said, and Pansy felt relieved, because also in addition to her not really planning to be the one talking, she didn’t know exactly how much pull she’d have, considering her current track record of detentions.  Tracey cleared her throat and offered Hermione a small smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, you guys.   I… I’m just scared to lose her, it almost happened once and I don’t want it to happen again.” Tracey sighed, looking away from them.  Well that just wouldn’t do, there was no way in hell Pansy was going to live through the drama that had been Daphne and Tracey not talking for not even fifteen minutes, she couldn’t imagine the emotions that would occur if Daphne were to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She would rather jump off a broom from the highest in the air it could get then deal with that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It won’t.”  Pansy insisted, and she meant that.  She wasn’t going to let anything this bad happen again.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0053"><h2>53. Chapter 53</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pacing around the lobby of St. Mungo’s probably wasn’t the smartest thing Pansy could be doing at this moment but she figured it was a lot better than practically chewing off her fingers like Tracey was doing.  Luckily, Dumbledore had approved their request to let Tracey visit Daphne in the hospital, but the catch was that she needed to be accompanied by two prefects at all times.  Currently, it was Pansy and Hermione, with Ron coming to relieve whichever one of them was more exhausted in the mid-evening.  The pacing seemed to be getting the better of Hermione, who sighed and set her book down beside her before she started to speak.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love?”  She asked, and Pansy turned around, raising an eyebrow and damn near knocking over a healer in the process.  Alright, so maybe she should move her pacing circle to a bit closer to where Tracey and Hermione were sitting, noted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sighed and stood up, placing a hand on either one of her shoulders to stop her so they could make eye contact.  It’s funny how just looking into Hermione’s eyes was enough to calm her down just a bit, enough to make her listen to whatever the other witch was going to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe instead of spending all of your energy digging a rut into the floor of the hospital with your pacing, you could talk to Tracey?  She’s very stressed and I think she’d rather talk to you over me, although let it be known that I did try.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy nodded.  She was here for emotional support, and it was a little selfish of her to be pacing around like </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the one with a girlfriend being healed right now.  So she walked over and settled down next to Tracey, shooting her a grin that was not returned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  Wanna know what I just remembered?”  Pansy asked, leaning her head on Tracey’s shoulder to look up at her.  Tracey sighed and looked away, shoving Pansy’s head back, which was fair but also kind of hurt.  Necks aren’t meant to bend that way to the best of Pansy’s knowledge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not particularly but I feel like you’re going to tell me anyways.”  She mumbled, and Pansy nodded, reaching over to turn Tracey’s head by her chin so she could look her in the eyes.  It broke her heart to see Tracey so sad, so… broken, honestly.  Pansy had seen sadness, they’d shared a dorm for six years, but this was different.  Like something in her was so somber that she’d never feel happy again.  Which wasn’t going to be the case if Pansy had anything to do with it.  Their normal comic relief was out of commission, so she’d step in, just this once.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right you are, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>smart.  I remember last year when I ate one of the twins stupid candies -really, I should’ve known better- and it damn near killed me because something in there caused my throat to completely swell shut and Madame Pomfrey couldn’t do anything about it, so I had to come here for a week.”  Pansy recounted, shuddering a bit at the sensation of nearly choking to death, but she did owe the Weasley twins a debt of gratitude for bringing her to the infirmary when they realized that their prank had had an adverse reaction.  Honestly, she was surprised they didn’t recognize her from that alone at Christmas, but maybe it wasn’t as memorable to them.  Tracey looked a little lost and a lot annoyed as she responded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay?”  She sighed, and Pansy bumped her shoulder and reached over, grabbing Tracey’s hand, and that was the one time the girl didn’t pull away.  Good, Pansy thought, maybe she’s warming up a bit from the shock of everything.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember </span>
  </em>
  <span>who was waiting for me when I came out of the potion induced coma.  You and Daphne.  Daphne punched me as hard as she could on the arm and told me to never do something like that to her again, and you just told me you were happy to see me alive, though a bit sad that you’d lost the bet to Daphne.”  Pansy reminded her, and she felt relief flood her body when a very small smile played on Tracey’s lips.  Good, she knew that the other witch would love that story.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I completely forgot about that.  It was a hefty bet, Parkinson.  I was out 100 galleons.”  Tracey said, her voice coming out a little bit raspy, which made sense with how much she’d been crying, and Pansy let out a chuckle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Rough.”  Pansy said, and Tracey nodded, examining her nails as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  Tracey sighed, still seeming vacant, which was worrying considering the circumstances.  She didn’t need any more trips to </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of healer today.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What's on your mind, T?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey’s lips formed a thin line as she thought, probably about how to phrase her next sentence correctly, but she merely sighed and shook her head, resting her head in her hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... This is all my fault.”  She said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and reached over, rubbing small circles across her upper back.  Nothing about what happened today was Tracey’s fault, Theo was just being an ass.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  No.”  Pansy said softly, and Tracey let out a watery chuckle and looked over at her.  It was pretty clear that she wasn’t going to believe anything Pansy said, her brain had decided that she’d somehow done this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>is.  If I hadn’t been so blind to how Daphne felt and then slept with Theo because he was polite to me and </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>, then he wouldn’t have gotten the wrong idea, he never would’ve confronted Daphne, and she wouldn’t be here suffering the effects of getting hit by an unforgivable curse </span>
  <em>
    <span>twice </span>
  </em>
  <span>and rammed into a wall.  It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>my fault, and you can't change my mind on that.”  Tracey explained, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  It wasn’t Tracey’s fault, Theo was still the one who chose to read too much into that one activity, he was still the one who landed Daphne in St. Mungos.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine, I can’t change your mind.  But just remember.  Theo was the one who approached Daphne, Theo was the one who willingly pulled his wand and cast that curse, and Theo was the one who was being a homophobic fuckhead.  All you did was have sex with someone, not a crime, just would like to remind you that you can do better than Theodore Nott, we all can, and then you asked out a girl that you like.  Neither of those things are illegal or immoral or grounds for any sort of guilt.  And the second you found out someone hurt Daphne you wanted to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>them, so I’d say you’re the most righteous in this situation, love.”  Pansy insisted, and she watched as Tracey’s features hardened and she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The second I see him I’m gonna-.”  She was cut off by Hermione clearing her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Not </span>
  </em>
  <span>do something that’ll land you in detention or possibly in Azkaban for the rest of your life?”  Hermione butted in, lifting an eyebrow.  Tracey rolled her eyes and gave Pansy a look that she knew meant her girlfriend was on thin ice at the moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.  I’ll ask Ginny to teach me the Bats Bogey Hex, are you happy?”  She spat, and Hermione nodded and set her book down completely.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  She’s really good at that one, you’ll probably mess him up for a while, at least mentally.  He won't want to approach you because he won't want it to happen again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And </span>
  </em>
  <span>if it happens to be on my shift of rounds and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>happen </span>
  </em>
  <span>to turn my back, so be it.”  Hermione said, and Pansy didn’t miss the glint in her girlfriend’s eye.  Oh, she was serious.  Alright, unexpected but certainly not unwelcome.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Granger… you’re… you’re alright.”  Tracey said, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head, leaning back in her chair again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, not a glowing review I suppose, but I’ll take it.”  Hermione sighed, and Tracey rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak again, but the conversation was cut off by the sound of a young healer clearing his throat, foot tapping nervously on the ground.  Pansy was honestly a little shocked, most healers she’d seen were at least 40, but this man couldn’t be much older than 25.  Weird, he would have almost been at Hogwarts at the same time as them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ms. Davis?  Ms. Parkinson?”  He asked, glancing amongst the three of them with a slightly lost look that made Pansy want to roll her eyes.  Honestly, if it's two Slytherins and a Gryffindor, at this point stereotype and assume that it's the two that match.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  Tracey asked, before Pansy was able to snap at the guy.  Shame, it would’ve been fun, she’d been dying to do that all day… totally not the effect of someone you considered a friend torturing your best friend, not at all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne Greengrass is asking after the two of you, we’ve been able to awaken her.”  He said, and Pansy nodded and stood up, stretching.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that's great, Hermione do you-.”  She started, but Hermione merely smiled and shook her head, leaning back in her chair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead, I’ve got my book with me.”  Hermione said, and Pansy nodded.  It was nice to have her here, but it was also nice to know that she had no issue with just being on her prefect duty, it made visiting Daphne a whole lot easier.  She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Hermione’s hairline.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.”  She murmured, and Hermione reached up and squeezed her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love you too.”  Hermione said, before giving her attention back to her book.  For a fleeting moment, Pansy thought that perhaps her girlfriend’s intense studying meant she’d missed some homework, before thinking that the professors would probably understand, given the circumstances.  She and Tracey stood for a moment in the doorway of Daphne’s room, waiting for her to look up.  When she finally did, it felt like a slight punch to Pansy’s gut because </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was okay, but she looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>tired, like she’d aged five years.  But she flashed them the same brilliant smile she always had and Pansy calmed for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey…”  She croaked, and Pansy raised her hand to wave.  She figured the first one to greet Daphne shouldn’t be her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”  Tracey said, rushing over to embrace Daphne, who let out a pained laugh and patted the other witches back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Careful now, I’m awake, I’m not fully healed.”  She said gently, and Tracey let go so quickly you’d think she’d been burned and went to stand up, but Daphne rolled her eyes and pulled her back down by her arm, so they were sitting together.  The healer cleared his throat and scanned his papers.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t fully heal what happened to her, but the pain should subside in a couple of days.”  He explained, and Pansy nodded, holding out her hand for the healer to shake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, sir.”  She said, and he seemed to get the hint at that point that Daphne and Tracey might want some time, so he firmly shook Pansy’s hand and started making his way to the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll let the three of you talk.”  The healer said, and he closed the door softly behind him.  Pansy leaned against the wall, letting the two other witches get reacquainted.  It was sweet to watch as Tracey examined every inch of Daphne’s face like she was scanning for any sort of imperfection before leaning down and pressing a quick kiss to her lips.  At that point, Pansy looked away because it felt a little uncomfortable to watch.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson.”  Daphne said, pulling her attention back.  She looked up and saw the other witch smiling, which was probably a good sign, but one can never be too sure.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne leaned back a bit on her bed, giving her a knowing look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t think I forgot what you did for me there… thanks.”  She said, and Pansy felt her face flush.  She didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>it embarrassed her that Daphne remembered how she reacted in the bathroom, it was perfectly logical that she would want to protect her friend from the pain she’d been feeling… it just felt like it made her seem vulnerable in a way she couldn’t stand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t going to let you pass out from an unforgivable curse, they hurt like-.  I mean, I would </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>that they hurt like hell, you know?”  Pansy asked, quick to backpedal over that little part of her childhood that she didn’t exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>the idea of sharing with everyone.  Daphne nodded, resting her head against Tracey’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They do.  I honestly thought I was going to die.”  Daphne confessed, and Pansy shook her head, crossing her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t about to let that happen.”  Pansy said, and she heard Daphne snort.  Okay, fair.  It wasn’t like she could simply tell death to fuck off, but it had been a nice gesture that Daphne should at least appreciate a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed, and Pansy cleared her throat.  What else could she say that Daphne </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to make fun of her for?  Though she preferred Daphne alive and making fun of her instead of dead and not, but still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But did you hear what your </span>
  <em>
    <span>lovely </span>
  </em>
  <span>girlfriend almost did?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey glared at her.  There was no reason to, this was a good thing that Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>certain </span>
  </em>
  <span>Daphne would want to hear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No? Do tell.”  Daphne said, looking at Tracey in confusion, but the other witch wouldn’t meet her gaze.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The second I told her what happened she considered murdering Theo, but I supposed you wanted her out of Azkaban and in your arms instead.”  Pansy explained, and Daphne’s jaw dropped for a moment before spreading into a wide smile as she elbowed Tracey lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You tried to kill a past flame for me?  Salacious.”  Daphne chuckled as she pressed a kiss to the side of Tracey’s face, and the other witch smacked her arm and huffed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a flame!  A one time thing that happened out of a lapse of judgement because I didn’t know anyone else was interested in me!”  She reasoned, and Daphne snorted and rolled her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, far be it from me to pine from afar.”  Daphne said, and Tracey shook her head and smiled, as if that notion was simply ridiculous.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know how it can be from afar when half the time your head was resting on my lap because you’d fall asleep on me.”  Tracey mumbled, and Daphne rolled her eyes and pressed another kiss to Tracey’s face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Don’t make me have the healer escort you out.”  Daphne murmured against Tracey’s cheek and Pansy watched the look of absolute horror that came across Tracey’s face as she pulled away and glared down at her.  Yeah, this could be a dynamic that Pansy could get used to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>wouldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey gasped, and Daphne grinned at her and shrugged, tucking a loose patch of hair behind her ear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I absolutely would, what do you take me for?”  Daphne asked with a chuckle, and the pair stared at each other with a sort of tension that quickly made Pansy more uncomfortable than she had been in a very long time.  She cleared her throat and started backing up to the door, ready to give the two some privacy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right well… ‘Mione’s in the lobby so I’m gonna-.”  Daphne nodded and gave her a quick look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank her for what she did too.”  She reminded Pansy, and she nodded.  Of course she was going to do that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed, and exited the room, walking briskly down the hallway before she reclaimed her seat beside Hermione, who closed her book and looked over with some curiosity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  How is she?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She’d seemed fine, aside from the obvious and expected residual pain.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stable.  Awake.  A wanker as usual, so I’d say no lasting damages.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And thank Merlin for that.”  She said, and Pansy sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She muttered, and looked off into the distance, really thinking about the effects that people like Theo could have if the war got to Hogwarts.  Pansy doubted he’d be fighting for the school, given who his parents are, and if he was willing to hex a girl, someone who was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend, </span>
  </em>
  <span>over something this small… that’s dangerous.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, what's going on?  You’re like a million miles away.”  Hermione said, bringing Pansy’s knuckles to her lips so she could brush a soft kiss against them.  That motion was enough to shake Pansy back into her body and out of her slightly morbid thoughts of what a grim future they might have.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, it's just… where do you see this going… if the war actually breaks out?  If Voldemort gets back into his power and he brings it to Hogwarts?  What… what are </span>
  <em>
    <span>we </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to do?” Pansy asked, and she knew Hermione knew what she was referring to.  A muggle/pureblood relationship would end up putting Hermione in a lot of danger.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We.” Hermione cupped both of Pansy’s cheeks as she looked intently at her before continuing,   “Are going to fight back, and do the best we can to keep our school safe.  I’m not letting you go just because some noseless bastard thinks our relationship is unsavory, it’ll take a lot more than that.”  She sighed, and Pansy felt her cheeks flush.  Hermione wanted a </span>
  <em>
    <span>future </span>
  </em>
  <span>with her, that was astounding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you want a future with me in it?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione smiled and nodded, dropping a light kiss on the tip of her nose and then dropping one on her lips before she gave her verbal response.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Currently, every draft I can think of for my future has you in it in some capacity, friends or lovers.  It’s odd, how in just a couple of months I can go from not giving a damn about you… to thinking that if I don’t have you around I’d die.”  Hermione said softly, and Pansy nodded, squeezing her hand lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a shock for me too.”  Pansy said, and she meant that.  She could remember the panic that she felt when she smelt Hermione in the amortentia, she'd considered drowning herself in Black Lake at least 100 times.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t think I don’t know that, you’re the one who walked out on the holidays and ruined my plans to kiss you at midnight.”  Hermione teased, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, pressing a kiss to Hermione’s temple.  She still felt like such a prick for doing that, but it had felt right in the moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, sorry about that… how about a rain check?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione let out a light chuckle, rubbing her thumb across the top of Pansy’s hand as she spoke.  It was something Pansy had come to love that she did, it made her feel a bit more grounded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want to kiss me on new years?”  Hermione asked, as if the thought of that happening was astounding to her.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and nodded, not sure if she should be worried that the person she considered to be a serious girlfriend was surprised that she wanted her to be the first and only person she kissed on New Years.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Couldn’t think of a better way to start off a new year… if we get to see it.”  Pansy murmured, and Hermione let out a chuckle and shook her head, cupping Pansy’s cheek to bring her in for a quick kiss.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>morbid.”  She sighed, and Pansy shrugged, leaning her head back against the wall as she squeezed Hermione’s hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I am so </span>
  <em>
    <span>realistic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, love.  It’s a trait of mine I think you’ll come to like.”  Pansy said, and Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll see about that.”  Hermione murmured, and they were silent for a moment as Pansy thought of how to phrase the question that had been on her mind for most of the night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… obviously if the death eaters and Voldemort manage to take Hogwarts -and I’m not saying they will, it’s hard to take over-, then Harry's probably going to…”  Pansy trailed off, figuring that saying her girlfriend’s closest friend was going to die probably wasn’t her place.  But luckily, Hermione picked up where she left off with ease.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either die or have to go on the run.”  She said, and Pansy sighed and rested her head on her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’d go with him so he doesn’t die </span>
  <em>
    <span>while </span>
  </em>
  <span>on the run.”  Pansy finished, and Hermione chewed on her lip as she cast her gaze at the floor, nodding.  Was she embarrassed about wanting to keep her friend safe?  Pansy found that to be ridiculous.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does… does that bother you?” Hermione asked after a moment of silence and Pansy was quick to shake her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No, not at all.  You have a duty to your friend to keep him safe because he can sometimes be a colossal dumbass as well as a ticking time bomb. I understand it.”  She said.  Was she terrified that if that happened she’d be attending her girlfriend’s funeral?  Yes, but that didn’t seem like something she should say right now.  Hermione rested her head on her shoulder and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll miss you like crazy if that happens.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy felt her heart tug as she leaned over and kissed the top of her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same here.  I literally cannot imagine a year with just Tracey and Daphne as company, especially if they fall in love, they’ll be sickening.”  She said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.  She couldn’t bear if their dynamic changed too much, it would ruin the whole dorm for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling... </span>
  <em>
    <span>We’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>in love.”  Hermione pointed out and Pansy shrugged.  She hardly saw what that had to do with any of it, honestly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s different, I did it first so I get a pass to be sickening with it.”  Pansy explained, and she genuinely believed that. Plus, after the year she’s had she deserved to find joy in </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she’d been outed and lost her family.  But Hermione clearly didn’t know that that was part of the reason, and merely laughed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you really can be such a wanker, my love.”  Hermione said, looking up at her with a soft fondness as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’re acting like you don’t love it because..?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes and shoved her lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”  She scoffed, but instead of acting like she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>genuinely </span>
  </em>
  <span>bothered by what Pansy had said, she merely tucked her head against her chest and sighed, a movement that Pansy was really not objecting to.  They ended up dozing off in the lobby just like that, Pansy lightly running her fingers through Hermione’s hair.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Doing rounds by herself was already a hassle, but doing rounds by herself when Hermione wasn’t even in the castle and her best friend was still in a hospital bed was </span>
  <em>
    <span>torture</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Honestly, Pansy was lucky no one had come up to her yet, she was worried she’d hex them out of just pure frustration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson!  We need to talk.”  Pansy stiffened at the sound of Theo’s voice and turned around, willing herself not to do something that would probably land Theo in Mungos and her in Azkaban, although it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>tempting.  It was like he knew she didn’t want to talk to anyone, and decided to present himself, someone who currently made Draco look like an upstanding member of the Hogwarts community.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unless the words you are about to say to me are ‘I’m pulling myself out of Hogwarts and becoming a beggar on the street because I’m such a horrible bastard and I deserve nothing short of eternal torture or death, whichever comes first’ then I’m not particularly interested in listening to your fucking shit.  I’m a busy woman, Nott, plus I’m on patrol.”  Pansy growled, closing her hand around the handle of her wand, preparing to pull it at any moment.  For a dark second  she </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>considered eye for an eye, and wanted to see how Theo would writhe in pain under an unforgivable curse, but realized that that would </span>
  <em>
    <span>for sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>be the last strike to get her expelled this year.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please.”  He said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>since she was on duty and he was coming right to her, she had to hear him out.  Which currently, was a rule she despised.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You get two.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Two </span>
  </em>
  <span>minutes, and then I'm hexing the everloving <em>shit </em>out of you for what you did.”  Pansy spat, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall.  Obviously, this was a hollow threat, but the intent was 100% real.  She wanted to hit him, hex him, do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but of course he’d managed to approach her while she was on rounds, meaning her hands were tied.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.  I need you to give this note to Tracey.”  He said, pressing a small scrap of parchment into her hand.  She raised an eyebrow and read it before chuckling and crumpling it up in her hand, ignoring the deflating sound that Theo made at that action.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This just says ‘meet at the Astronomy tower’.  What are you trying to do, Nott?”  She asked, narrowing her eyes.  Theo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, looking caught.  Over what, Pansy couldn’t quite know.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clearly going after Daphne was the wrong approach.”  He said, and Pansy’s eyebrow arched again.  What was that supposed to mean?  Was he planning on attacking Tracey next, because if he admitted that </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupidly </span>
  </em>
  <span>to a prefect, he could get expelled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?”  Pansy asked, and Theo shrugged, crossing his arms and setting his jaw before he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey doesn’t even see that she’s being manipulated into falling in love with that… that-.”  Pansy knew what was going to come out of his mouth immediately and pressed her wand to his throat.  Honestly, did he think calling her friend a dyke would work out well for him?  Also, had he conveniently forgotten the many times that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy </span>
  </em>
  <span>had been called that in this year?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say it, see what happens.”  She snapped, and he swallowed and reached up to push her wand down before he kept speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyways… I need to win her over, to woo her and show her that I’m the one she belongs with.”  He said, and Pansy stifled a chuckle as she leaned herself against the wall again.  Did he honestly think that he was a better fit for Tracey?  No one knew her better than Daphne, and there was no one in the world who would probably go through more shit to make her happy.  Theo probably just wanted a girl on his arm, someone he could eventually marry to appease his parents and Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to let him manipulate her friend into that.  She deserved better.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude.  Can I be totally honest with you?”  Pansy asked, trying to sound like she was going to come at this like a friend, to which Theo looked very relieved and nodded.  And that was his first… well </span>
  <em>
    <span>third </span>
  </em>
  <span>technically… mistake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I would welcome feedback.”  He said, and Pansy stood up to her full height, still having to glare a little bit up at him as she cleared her throat.  Oh, she would give him </span>
  <em>
    <span>plenty </span>
  </em>
  <span>of feedback.  So much that he’d be sorry he even asked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You sound like an obsessive creep who doesn’t understand that no means no and that having sex one time does not make it a moral obligation to have a relationship.  It was a one time thing, for Merlin’s sake you two were </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  And you can’t respect the fact that she moved on.  What is your problem, Theo?  If you liked her, I’d think you’d have said something </span>
  <em>
    <span>while </span>
  </em>
  <span>having sex, preferably before but clearly you only think with your dick.”  Pansy spat, and Theo was silent for a moment before he sighed and scuffed his shoe on the cobblestones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I wanted to make sure she’d do it with </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I’ve been in love with her since fourth year.”  He mumbled, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  In some way, it made sense.  Theo had started choosing to stay the holidays at Hogwarts in 4th year, and that was also when he and Tracey had started talking, but Pansy never thought it had anything that would do with… </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  That was just plain manipulative and weird, making someone think that the most this is going to be is friends with benefits because both sides mutually feel nothing, when really you’re in love?  Bad move.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck?”  Pansy breathed, but Theo didn’t even seem to notice as he plowed on with his borderline obsessive declaration of apparent love for one of her best friends.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>had to be the most uncomfortable Pansy had ever had the displeasure of feeling in her young life.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s so pretty and funny and she can hold her firewhiskey… and Daphne’s corrupting her and if I can just get her to see-.”  Suddenly Pansy watched as he paled and stood rigid. She glanced around to see Tracey with a hard look on her face, pressing her wand to the top of his spine.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back.  The fuck.  Away.”  Tracey snarled, and Theo turned around and put his hands up as he started walking backwards as quickly as he could, letting out a small </span>
  <em>
    <span>oof</span>
  </em>
  <span> when he ran into the wall.  Tracey shoved her wand against his windpipe and narrowed her eyes, and all of this came across as </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>shocking to Pansy because sure, she’d heard Tracey threaten but rarely was there a follow through.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey, this isn’t what it looks like-.”  He tried, but Tracey held up a hand to silence him before continuing right on.  Okay, and right </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy could totally see the appeal that Daphne had seen, very hot when she’s angry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve put one person I love in Saint Mungos, you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>do it with another, you sick motherfucker.”  Tracey snapped, and Theo looked so lost.  Pansy, on the other hand, felt her heart warm because of course she and Daphne and Tracey loved each other, they were close, if not best, friends.  But it never hurt to hear a verbal confirmation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  He tried, and Tracey shook her head and pressed the wand harder, eliciting a pained sound from Theo.  For a moment Pansy considered stepping in… but then she realized just how little she wanted to.  She’d rather watch Theo suffer at the hands of the girl that he thought he’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>earned </span>
  </em>
  <span>just because he took her virginity.  Dickhead.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I think we are </span>
  <em>
    <span>well </span>
  </em>
  <span>beyond any sort of explanation.  You cast an unforgivable curse on my </span>
  <em>
    <span>girlfriend</span>
  </em>
  <span>!  You blatantly lied to me when we slept </span>
  <span>together and said you didn’t have feelings for me, which was why I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay </span>
  </em>
  <span>with it!  I should kill you right here.”  Tracey growled, and Pansy considered jumping in and reminding her where that would land her, but decided against it when Theo went a shade paler (She didn’t know that was even </span>
  <em>
    <span>possible </span>
  </em>
  <span>at this point) and shook his head at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t.”  He said quietly, almost sounding defeated, like he couldn’t believe this was happening.  Pansy couldn’t believe that it had </span>
  <em>
    <span>taken </span>
  </em>
  <span>this long.  If someone had done something like that to Hermione they’d already be dead.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she wouldn’t, but she’s got something better up her sleeve.”  Pansy heard someone call, and looked up to see Ginny sauntering down the hallway, a smug look on her face as she nodded to acknowledge her.  Oh, so Tracey’d been serious about having her teach that hex, shit.  This should be interesting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you have to do with it, Weasel?”  Theo asked, distaste showing through his voice.  Pansy almost whipped her wand out for that one, but Ginny held up a hand to stop her without even looking and jutted her chin at Tracey.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Ginny barked, and Tracey moved her wand from Theo’s throat to pointing at his face</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Volatilis Lutum!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  She shouted, and Pansy watched in amazement at how well that hex really worked.  She’d never thought much of it before but… yeah, she could see why it was something Ginny used quite a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Argh!  What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Theo groaned as he tried to cover his face.  A great lot of good that's going to do, Nott, Pansy thought with a smirk.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice one, Davis!  And just for good measure… </span>
  <em>
    <span>Volatilis Lutum</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  That’s for torturing a girl just for dating someone, you stupid bastard.”  Ginny snapped, tucking her wand back behind her ear as she turned to the other two girls.  Pansy was honestly in awe of how well executed that hex was, she knew Ginny had been doing it for years but </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  Didn’t know you had that in you, Trace.”  Pansy said, clearly impressed, but Tracey didn’t seem to notice.  The scary, angry girl from 5 seconds ago was gone, and her friend was back, checking very closely to make sure there was no sign of injury on her anywhere.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?  Did he hurt you?”  She asked in a rushed voice and Pansy chuckled and grabbed both her wrists, slowly bringing them back down to her sides.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No. He was trying to make me make you meet him so he could woo you, I was in the middle of telling him off.”  Pansy explained, and Ginny cleared her throat, raising one hand up as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to tell Luna to go get more prefects?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, reaching up to rub her temples.  Sometimes her friends tried to help in the worst ways possible.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!”  Pansy huffed, and Ginny nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  I’ll stop her, just give me a moment.”  Ginny sighed, and started jogging off in the opposite direction, presumably to where she’d sent Luna.  Pansy turned to Tracey and lightly elbowed her ribs with a smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  I’m proud of you.”  She said, and Tracey rolled her eyes, but returned the smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should be docking house points.”  Tracey pointed out, and Pansy shrugged.  Objectively, yes she was supposed to dock points for that, but there was really no point, and she wasn’t going to punish her friend for doing something that was right in her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I didn’t see anything.  There’s no way to </span>
  <em>
    <span>prove </span>
  </em>
  <span>that I did.”  Pansy explained, and Tracey chuckled and shook her head, leaning onto Pansy’s shoulder for a moment before she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what are we going to do with him?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She hadn’t given it much thought, honestly she’d considered just leaving him there until Filch found him, but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>does </span>
  </em>
  <span>still have some responsibility to the school.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll swing by the infirmary after I finish my rounds and tell Madame Pomfrey that I saw some seventh years do it, but I couldn’t catch them in time to identify.”  Pansy explained, and it was becoming <em>very </em>apparent that she had done this before.  Of course she had, back when she was betrothed to Draco she was practically forced to let his little gang go every single time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I have no idea how you made prefect.”  Tracey said with a light chuckle, and Pansy shrugged.  Because she used to be the poster child for a Slytherin pure-blood girl: Judgemental, elitist, high in classes, and dating the male prefect.  How much things change in a single year.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, neither do I.”  Pansy insisted, and the two shared a look before bursting into a small fit of laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything good over here?”  Pansy heard a voice ring out, and she turned to see Ginny returning, with Luna in tow, and she nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Mhm.  Thanks, Gin.  Luna.”  She said, and Ginny nodded at her.  Pansy could guess it hadn't been too much of a chore, as Ginny seemed quite fond of the hex used.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“‘Course.  It was nice to use that again, it’s been a while for me.”  Ginny said with a grin, and Tracey shook her head in disbelief.  What about that was supposed to be unbelievable, Pansy couldn’t tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes I have no idea how you’re related to Ron, you two act </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>differently.”  Tracey said, and Ginny gave her a smile and shrugged.  Pansy couldn't begin to imagine what story Ginny was going to pull out, but she could imagine that whatever it was, her brother wasn't going to be too happy with it being said if he ever found out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, he threw a knife at Fred this Christmas.”  Ginny said, and Pansy jaw dropped.  Well, of all the things to come out of the redheads mouth, that was probably the most surprising.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  Why?”  Tracey asked, and Ginny shrugged, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Luna’s cheek before she continued talking.  Sometimes Pansy forgot just how achingly sweet the two of them really were together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was teasing him about being single and losing Hermione, so Ron saw it fit to just… launch it.  Fred turned it into a paper airplane or something, so nothing major really happened.”  Ginny explained, as if that was a completely normal thing to happen at a family gathering.  And for all Pansy knew it could be, her family hadn’t exactly been </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal </span>
  </em>
  <span>by anyone’s standards.  But, judging off of Tracey’s reaction, Pansy had been right to think it was a bit dramatic.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's… </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>the family dynamic.”  Tracey breathed, and Ginny shrugged and nodded.  Pansy honestly wished she could bring both Daphne and Tracey to the burrow at some point, because it would be interesting to see how they reacted to a family like the Weasleys.  Sure, Daphne's family was loving and accepting but it wasn't <em>affectionate, </em>and Tracey's was affectionate but it was hollow and loveless.  Just once, Pansy thought they should experience both... with Molly's consent of course.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got seven kids.  Makes for a time.”  Ginny said with a small smile, and Tracey nodded, clearing her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I can’t imagine.  Speaking of Hermione, when is she coming back?  I know Ron and her took the late shift at Mungo’s tonight.”  She said, this question directed at Pansy, who had to take a moment to remember what Hermione had said about that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She should be back tomorrow morning, after they release Daphne.”  Pansy said, and she noticed the look of relief flood Tracey’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  She’s getting out tomorrow.”  She murmured, and Pansy nodded, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they walked the opposite direction from Ginny and Luna, towards the dungeon.  No one was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to notice if she skipped out on the rest of her rounds, right?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you gonna do?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not let her out of my sight.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy nodded.  That would probably be what she would do if her girlfriend was just getting out of St. Mungo's.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’ll in turn </span>
  <em>
    <span>keep </span>
  </em>
  <span>Theo out of your sight.”  Pansy promised, and Tracey grinned at her and nodded.  Well, it was as much for Pansy’s sake as anyone else's.  It seemed like a chore to have to write up a friend, and she could only deny seeing what happened so many times before people began getting </span>
  <span>suspicious, she knew that already.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect.”  She said, and they slowly made their way to the dungeon for one more night of restless sleep.  It just felt empty without Daphne, like they were missing a </span>
  <em>
    <span>major </span>
  </em>
  <span>part of their group… because they were.  Also because Pansy was quickly learning that Daphne was the only reason Tracey had ever been able to sleep full nights at Hogwarts, and staying up with her was getting exhausting.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0054"><h2>54. AUTHOR’S NOTE</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hi!  Sorry I haven’t updated this story in a bit.  In short my mental health has not been doing the best since I live in place very affected by the cold and darkness.  I’m working on bettering it, and I plan to update ASAP, again I’m so sorry for any delay.  I wish you all a wonderful rest of your day </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0055"><h2>55. Chapter 55</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the short chapter I just wanted to post something</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had never been so difficult to locate Hermione Granger, at least not since their relationship had started.  Honestly, it was like she’d disappeared into thin air, or she was holed up in her dorm.  And of course she’d do that right as Pansy needed to find her, so she did the next best thing.  If you can’t find the girl, find her friend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny!  Wait up!”  Pansy called, jogging to catch up with the Gryffindor, who thankfully slowed down upon hearing her, even though she looked antsy as she did.  Okay, so Pansy had caught her at a bad time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This better be life or death, Parkinson, I have practice.”  Ginny sighed, and this gave Pansy pause.  Hold on, what?  Pansy was a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one... at least not about common sense things like knowing that the inter house cup was the end of the quidditch season... at least the competitive one.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t the season over?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny nodded.  Okay, good, she wasn’t crazy… clearly Ginny was if she was still choosing to practice out of her own free will.  Even Potter was taking a break.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t want to get rusty.  We have to keep up our winning streak next year.”  She pointed out, and Pansy fought the urge to roll her eyes.  How was that important when exams were coming up?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.  Forgot that you’re obsessed.  Anyways, have you seen Hermione?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny thought for a moment before shaking her head.  She supposed she was asking the wrong Weasley for constant tabs on her girlfriend, Ginny had her own to worry about.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… Not recently, last I knew she and Harry and Ron were working on their potions homework.”  She said, and Pansy paused.  When was that even due?  When did Slughorn even assign that?  She must’ve been distracted… or skipping class, either one was incredibly possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit, I really should do that… Not the point.  Um, if you find her can you tell her I’m looking for her?  Something really important I need to do…”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny chuckled and rolled her eyes, stopping in her tracks.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is so important that I need to play messenger between two seventeen year olds.”  Ginny said, her voice monotone.  Valid question, but still a little annoying.  Obviously Pansy wouldn’t have tracked down her friend if this wasn’t something she actually needed help with, and Ginny could be a bit more <em>understanding</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m giving Hermione this.”  Pansy said, digging out the ring from her pocket.  She immediately saw Ginny's eyes bug out as the redhead gripped her chest in shock.  It was a ring, what was so crazy about that?  Plenty of people have rings.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Pansy</em>.  I’m a sucker for a good love story, and I know you were raised that getting married at seventeen is normal but-.”  Pansy let out a surprised laugh and shook her head.  Was that honestly her first thought?  Wow.  Maybe Hermione and her <em>had </em>been moving a little fast in their relationship if people thought she was engaging in consensual teen marriage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Oh. No!  No no.  It’s a promise ring.  A family heirloom.  What do you take me for, woman?  Nana Parkinson gave it to me on her deathbed, and I want to give it to Hermione so she has something to always remember me by.”  Pansy explained, a sour taste in her mouth at the reminder that they might not get to be together next year.  Ginny picked up on it almost immediately and reached out to touch her shoulder, a knowing look in her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  Um… You’re scared about what's going to happen next year, aren’t you?”  She asked, and Pansy sighed and nodded.  Somehow admitting it made it seem a million times worse.  The fact that this was probably going to happen, and she was helpless to try and stop it.  There was no way to, at least not that she could see.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  And the shitty thing is… even if Potter, by some miracle, <em>doesn’t </em>have to disappear… if the Dark Lord takes power, Hermione… she’ll…”  Pansy didn’t even want to finish that sentence, and Ginny seemed to sense that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’ll be banned from Hogwarts because she’s a muggle.”  Ginny finished, and Pansy sighed and nodded.  That thought had been keeping her up at night because she knew her girlfriend could literally die.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That one.”  Pansy said quietly, and there was a long pause before Ginny spoke again.  Honestly, Pansy didn’t know why.  It was pretty clear she could basically read what was going on in Pansy’s head right now for herself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you scared that you’ll end up going back to how you were?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy nodded.  It was one of her darkest fears, that somehow Draco would be able to rope her back in and she’d lose all of the progress she’d made towards bettering herself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m constantly scared of that.  I don’t want to <em>be </em>that person anymore, you know?  But I can tell she’s lying dormant and if I get pushed or enabled enough she could come back.”  Pansy explained, and Ginny let out a sigh and threw an arm around her shoulder as they walked.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Pans.  I don’t think you’re giving yourself nearly enough credit.”  She reasoned, and Pansy raised her eyebrow, a bit taken aback.  Not many people said that to her, with good reason, she’d never done anything to deserve such praise.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pardon?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny shrugged and gave her a knowing grin.  Or was it a cocky grin?  Pansy hadn’t really been able to figure out the difference yet, they looked so similar.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Most people take a lot more than a month to change their views as drastically as you did.”  Ginny pointed out, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  Ginny was completely right about that, and the change, the urge to change anyways, had come completely out of nowhere.  Just like Hermione.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you know what they say... Love makes you crazy.”  Pansy reasoned, and Ginny offered her a warm smile as she nudged her shoulder.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Love makes you <em>better</em>.  She made you so much better, I swear.” She said, and Pansy chuckled softly and crossed her arms, thinking back on the earlier part of the year.  She hardly recognized that girl anymore, and that was for the best.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I was a little insufferable, wasn’t I?”  Pansy said with a chuckle, trying to make the mood more joking and less serious.  Talking about love and feelings and relationships <em>right </em>after talking about Hermione’s possible demise was just too much of a 180 for today.  Luckily, that had been enough bait for Ginny to snort and raise an eyebrow.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A little?  No offense, but you were like a more shrill, rude version of Draco who had far better insults.”  Ginny said, and Pansy felt a small bit of pride at that, but mostly hurt.  People had thought she was more rude than <em>Draco</em>?  Blood purist, death eater, ‘my father will hear about this’ Draco Malfoy.  <em>That </em>was humbling.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My insults <em>were </em>superior.  And <em>hey</em>!”  Pansy snapped, and Ginny shrugged.  Sometimes Pansy wished she still had the ability to scare people, it was a lot more powerful than being brushed off.  Not that Ginny had ever been afraid of her or ever would be.  That would probably be a miracle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, you walked into it.” She sighed, and Pansy huffed and rolled her eyes.  What a wanker.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did <em>not.  </em>How long have you been sitting on that one?”  Pansy asked, chuckling.  Ginny shrugged and sighed, giving her a sideways glance before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since I was a first year.”  Ginny said quietly, and that made Pansy nearly stop in her tracks.  That’s right.  First year.  You-know-who’s diary.  Ginny being possessed.  As if the comments about her family being poor weren’t enough, Ginny was having to deal with all that shit at <em>11 </em>years old.  And at the time, Pansy ahd just seen it as an easy target.  Merlin, she’d been such a bitch.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, you must’ve hated me.”  Pansy chuckled, and she didn’t expect Ginny to disagree because that was simply a fact, but even so, seeing her shrug in response still sort of hurt.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you really blame me?  I was possessed and you all were <em>still </em>worse than being Tom Riddle’s personal ‘assistant’.”  Ginny said, putting air quotes around the word assistant.  Pansy really didn’t mean to laugh at that, but it was just such a casual way to refer to what the Dark Lord had made her do.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t terrible.”  She tried, and Ginny raised an eyebrow and shook her head, giving her a defiant look.  Okay, so it's probably good that GInny’s getting this off her chest, Pansy thought, it’ll make for a healthier friendship.  Less resentment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yes you were.  Can’t help if my family doesn’t have money.”  Ginny said plainly, and Pansy winced away.  Merlin, she really didn’t need another reminder about what a bitch she’d been about that, laughing at all of Draco’s jokes… sometimes making her own.  It was in <em>such </em>bad taste.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny was quiet as they rounded another corner.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t… feel that way about us now, right?”  Ginny asked softly, and Pansy widened her eyes as she shook her head.  The Weasley’s had honestly felt the closest to family out of anywhere she’d ever been.  Remus and Sirius weren’t far off either.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin no.  I love your family, your house… it made me realize that I never really… had a home.  Your mom, despite the fact that she called me on my shit, really opened my eyes to what love is supposed to be about.  And I can’t thank her enough for that.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny nodded as they continued down the hall towards the quidditch pitch<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, you might not know this but, that was actually so hard for mom to do because she didn’t hate you.  She was just so mad at what Ron had told her, so protective of her son that she forgot that you were trying to change.  She could also tell that you loved ‘Mione… she asked me about it the morning after you left.”  Ginny said,  and Pansy’s mouth opened in shock.  She supposed that it had to have been really obvious, but honestly?  That surprised her.  Especially since Molly had clearly been wanting Ron and Hermione to be together in the end.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Really?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  I think she felt guilty about the part of her brain that was so focused on the idea of Hermione and Ron being together… she saw you as a threat to the idea of Ron’s future happiness.”  Ginny explained, and that one was a low blow too, because it always felt sort of like it was true, even if Ron had completely forgiven her for everything at this point.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never purposefully got in the way.”  She insisted, and Ginny shrugged, smiling over at her.  Pansy was being truthful, she never meant to get in the way of a relationship, and it was still something she felt guilty over sometimes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you even accidentally did.  Hermione is a smart woman, if she wants to be with someone, she will be.  If she doesn’t, she won’t.  And she didn’t want Ron.  She wanted you. And no one can deny that </span>
  <span>the two of you make quite the handsome couple.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Imagine the power if we both got to be head girl next year.  I know the head boy and girl so often end up together but like… I just think it’d be cool.”  Pansy sighed, letting her brain wander for a moment to the vast unknown that was the Head Girl and Head Boy dormitories.  They were said to be gorgeous, not to mention… it would provide some nice privacy… but she shook herself out of her thoughts as she heard Ginny let out a small chuckle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly…. you two would probably be the hottest heads of houses so far.”  She said, and Pansy looked over in surprise.  Did Ginny Weasley just <em>casually </em>call her hot?  Forget Hermione, they’d been friends for years, so Ginny had probably said that to her before.  But <em>her</em>?  That felt like an accomplishment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, you think I’m hot, Weasley?  That’s quite the high compliment.”  Pansy said with a cocky grin, and Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes, running a hand through her hair.<br/>“Please, any girl who's a bit bent or any guy who doesn’t only fancy men can tell you’re hot, Parkinson… that is, until you open your mouth.  Really ruins it for some people.”  Ginny said, glancing over at her with a smirk.  Pansy’s mouth fell open in shock as she shoved the other girl as hard as she could manage.  It was annoying that Ginny hardly moved, quidditch made her unnervingly strong.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  You fucking wanker!”  Pansy growled, and Ginny just gave her a self satisfied smirk and started walking away, onto the field.  Pansy shook her head and turned on her heel, walking briskly back into the castle.  She wanted to be a little more annoyed that Ginny had basically just said that the way she spoke was unattractive, but instead she found herself fighting off a smile.  Merlin, maybe Hermione <em>had </em>made her go too soft.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy had done a lot of things in her life.  She’d nearly been betrothed, she’d told her parents off, nearly been obliviated, not to mention the things that she didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember </span>
  </em>
  <span>about childhood… but somehow this was the most difficult thing that she’d ever had to do.  Because this had the serious possibility of going very badly.  Because something about giving a promise ring immediately made Ginny think that Pansy was going to be proposing, which could be detrimental in her relationship with Hermione if she thought the same thing.  But before she could go further down the rabbit hole, she felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned to see Hermione giving her a worried look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… whats up, Ginny said you were looking for me?  She sounded rather serious about it too, are you okay?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded, reaching into her robe pocket to fiddle with her grandmother’s ring.  Would she think it was too much?  No, probably not… people gave promise rings all the time, but even with that knowledge Pansy felt moments from throwing up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I was, and I’m completely fine.  Just… sit down.”  She said, hoping her voice didn’t betray just how nervous she was.  It seemed to, though, because Hermione looked ever more skeptical.  Wonderful, just what she needed right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay?”  Hermione asked quietly as she settled down beside her.  Pansy cleared her throat and turned so she was fully facing the other witch, taking her girlfriend’s hand with her free one and squeezing onto the ring with the other.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, all our talk about the future when Daph was in the hospital, it had me thinking-.”  Hermione held up a hand to stop her and raised an eyebrow, humor dancing in her eyes.  What could this possibly be?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not breaking up with me, are you?  Because that’s a really shitty way to start the conversation-.”  Pansy rolled her eyes and shook her head.  She knew Hermione wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious </span>
  </em>
  <span>about that joke, but she also understood the fear behind it.  Pansy was normally pretty non committal, and that talk had been a bit heavy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No!  Merlin, just let me finish, love.”  Pansy said with a light chuckle, a little surprised that her normally logical girlfriend was jumping to such extreme conclusions without evidence.  Hermione seemed to relax after that, and let Pansy hold one of her hands.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that’s fair.”  She sighed, and Pansy cleared her throat, steeling herself to say what she wanted to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, okay… um.  So, I got this for you… technically I’ve had it, it's a Parkinson heirloom, you may have seen me wear it before, but I want you to have it now.”  Pansy said, holding the ring out in an open palm.  Hermione was silent for a good moment looking down at it before she cleared her throat and actually met Pansy’s eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  Hermione said, her tone very serious, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  She asked, and Hermione let out a shaky breath as she ran a hand thru her hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This… this is a ring.  This is a very </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice </span>
  </em>
  <span>ring that looks like it cost a lot of money.”  Hermione said, sounding like she was scared to say the wrong thing.  Pansy nodded and chuckled.  Did Hermione </span>
  <em>
    <span>honestly </span>
  </em>
  <span>think she was proposing at seventeen?  Sure, she’d been betrothed but she wouldn’t willingly do something like that this early into the relationship, they hadn’t even been together a full year!</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wonderful deduction skills, you truly are the brightest witch of our age.” Pansy said in a flat voice, and Hermione swallowed heavily, fiddling with her fingers as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“People sometimes give rings when they…”  Hermione trailed off, clearly too nervous to finish that sentence, but Pansy had to hear her say it.  Maybe she was wrong, and what Ginny had said was a fluke and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>give off weird teen marriage vibes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When they?”  Pansy prompted, and Hermione shook her head and eyed the ring with a nervous look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean with this ring.”  Hermione asked cautiously, and Pansy smiled at her and leaned forward, taking her hand in both of hers.  She of course didn’t want to freak her girlfriend out, and she could see how this would do it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a promise ring.” Pansy said, and Hermione’s face flushed with relief and she let out a small chuckle as she nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Okay.  Merlin, you scared me.  I thought you were proposing and it's like </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes </span>
  </em>
  <span> I can totally see a future with you but we’re only 17 and-.”  Pansy leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Hermione’s lips to quiet her, and luckily it worked and also seemed to calm her down a bit.  She looked a bit more clear headed when she pulled away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you’re adorable when you ramble.  Try it on, it's enchanted to fit to any finger.”  Pansy urged, and Hermione gave her a nervous smile before slipping it onto her right ring finger.  It was cute how shocked she looked when it fit itself to her finger, and it was clear she was both admiring it and trying to figure out the charm.  It was ancient, Pansy didn’t even know what it was because her grandma had forgotten the incantation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans… it's so gorgeous.  And the promise is…?”  Hermione asked, trailing off, and Pansy shrugged.  There was a lot to it, but also it felt so simple.  Her promise was just… the promise of forever.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To love you for as long as physically possible.  Even when we fight, even when I’m stubborn and an ass-.” Hermione smirked and elbowed her lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thats a lot of the time.” She joked, and Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved her because was </span>
  <em>
    <span>now </span>
  </em>
  <span>really the time for that?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  Declaring love here!”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione chuckled and pressed a soft kiss to her jaw before tucking her head against her chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, continue.”  She said, and Pansy let out a sigh and shrugged.  She wanted forever with Hermione, that was all she could think.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just… I wanna be with you, and whenever you think I don’t, I want you to look down at that ring and remember that, okay?  Could you do that for me, love?”  Pansy asked softly, bringing up one of Hermione’s hands to kiss across her knuckles.  She decided it best, for now, to leave out the part that the ring was also something she could remember her by if Harry needed to take off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  Of course.” Hermione said, her voice soft and calm.  Pansy grinned and pulled the other witch to her chest.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.” She murmured quietly against her hair and she felt Hermione let out a giggle as she looped her arms around her as well.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.”  Hermione sighed, resting her head against Pansy’s chest.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, that ring suits you.  I know you don’t believe me, but green is your color.” Pansy said, and Hermione chuckled and leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ron and Harry would totally skin you alive if they heard you say that.”  Hermione murmured against her cheek, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Merlin, sometimes Harry could be such a hypocrite, he wore Draco’s shit all the time.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh please, as if Potter wasn’t wearing a Slytherin quidditch jumper when he was dating Malfoy, he’s got no ground to stand on.”  Pansy snorted, and Hermione shrugged and nodded.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, but he’ll still act like he does.”  Hermione said with a soft chuckle, and Pansy shrugged, nudging her girlfriend's shoulder lightly. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I guess that's the curse of you befriending the chosen one.”  Pansy joked and Hermione rolled her eyes, but pulled her in for a long kiss, only to be broken by the stern clearing of a throat.  They must’ve not been too upset though, because by the time they turned around the person was already gone.  Rude.<br/></span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0056"><h2>56. Chapter 56</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Studying in Hermione’s dorm was about twenty times easier than studying on her own in her dorm, probably because of Daphne and Tracey</span>
  <em>
    <span> constantly </span>
  </em>
  <span>mooning over each other, it was irritating… and sweet.  But, today she was finding it rather difficult to focus because of just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermione was staring at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you not get bored doing that?”  Pansy asked, looking up from her spot at the end of Hermione’s bed.  She shrugged and flashed her girlfriend a coy smile, looking back down at her textbook as if she hadn’t been practically staring holes through Pansy just a moment ago.  Cheesy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doing what?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy grinned and rolled her eyes.  Playing hard to get… or something equivalent, felt extremely childish for the smartest witch at Hogwarts.  But, it was cute that she still tried to flirt sometimes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Staring at me.”  Pansy sighed, shutting her textbook before moving to sit on Hermione’s legs.  Clearly neither of them were very focused, might as well take advantage of the situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because every time I look,  there’s something more to admire.”  Hermione said, leaning up a little to tuck some of her hair behind her ear.  That never failed to make Pansy blush just a bit, it just made her feel so </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re such a charmer.” She murmured, and Hermione smirked and pressed a quick kiss to her cheekbone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do my best.” Hermione said,  and Pansy chuckled and shook her head as Hermione went to shift away.  No.  Absolutely not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here.” She insisted, and Hermione looked conflicted, though in Pansy’s eyes the choice was obvious</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have to finish this-.” Pansy shook her head and grabbed Hermione’s book, carefully marking the page and put the textbook</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As if you don’t have most of the book memorized.  You’re going to do amazing, love.  Just come here please.”  Pansy insisted, and after one more</span>
</p><p>
  <span>moment of contemplation Hermione let herself be pulled, much to Pansy’s delight, and she curled against the Slytherin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like when you’re like this.”  Hermione murmured and Pansy raised her eyebrow because that could mean a myriad of things, only some of them good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione thought for a moment before speaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… when you let your guard down and let me in.  I know how stressful it’s been with making sure that Daphne is safe and recovering, so I’ve missed being able to just… be with you.”  She said with a shrug, and Pansy felt a small smile creep onto her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me too, love.”  Pansy murmured,  pressing a light kiss to Hermione’s temple, rubbing little patterns onto her back and shoulders.  It was a wonder that Hermione was able to walk around like this, so wound up </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the time, Pansy would have collapsed from the pain already, she thought.  But she supposed that the Gryffindor had her practice, she’d always been wound tight, even in first year when she had no reason to be.  She didn’t know how long they laid like this, with Pansy thinking and Hermione silent, before she felt the other witch shift, and looked down to see Hermione tucking her face against her neck.  At first she smiled, it was sweet when she did that before falling asleep, but it quickly turned into a sort of gasp when she felt teeth lightly graze her pulse point.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  So, not as sweet, ok.  Well, she wasn’t one to turn down the invitation, especially since they had the rare occurrence of an empty dorm.  She looped her fingers around Hermione’s tie and pulled her into a gentle kiss, smiling to herself at the softness of Hermione’s lips.  It had always been one of her favorite things about her, all the softness… okay maybe not </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span>, maybe the sarcasm had drawn her in, but the softness is what sunk her.  But she didn’t get very much time to actually think about that or to savor the first contact before Hermione was sitting up again, moving to straddle her hips as she brought a hand between them and loosened Pansy’s tie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Off.”  Hermione mumbled against her lips, and Pansy couldn’t stop the small chuckle that came from her as they broke apart, because it was always a little funny to her just how </span>
  <em>
    <span>un</span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermioneish Hermione sounded before they had sex.  Like she was just anyone else in the world, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>one of the smartest people Pansy had ever met.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, how </span>
  <em>
    <span>articulate</span>
  </em>
  <span>-.”  She didn’t get to finish her sentence before Hermione was on her again, licking into her mouth and trailing her fingers up and down her ribs.  It felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>heavenly</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but of course it was only to get her attention back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be a wanker right now, just take off your fucking tie.  I studied for an </span>
  <em>
    <span>hour </span>
  </em>
  <span>before I let myself realize just how hot you look today, and now I would like to study </span>
  <em>
    <span>that.”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>She murmured, her voice muffled against Pansy’s collarbone.  Pansy wrinkled her nose and leaned back, a little put off by the comparison of her body in relation to Transfiguration or whatever Hermione had been reviewing.</span>
  <em>
    <span>
      <br/>
    </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, don’t try to make academics sexy.”  Pansy groaned, covering her eyes with arm.  Sometimes dating someone who was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>academically minded was… interesting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>sexy.”  Hermione pointed out, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Of course she did, because that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>true.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but you’re not a subject in a textbook, you’re my girlfriend.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Very </span>
  </em>
  <span>different.” Pansy murmured, pulling the other witch back to her lips, quite desperate to stop this conversation.  They didn’t know how long they actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>until her roommates came back.  She felt Hermione’s hands dip beneath her waistband to untuck her shirt, and smiled against her lips as Hermione’s hands found her skin after making quick work of the shirts buttons and hastily pushing it off.  Now, this was Another time she thanked Merlin that she’d found a girlfriend with warm hands, this would probably be less enjoyable if she was cold.  Hermione kissed a slow line down to Pansy’s collarbone, causing the other witch to let out a slight gasp and pull her closer, the thought that she should probably close the curtains or cast a spell only in the back corner of her mind.  But apparently the same could </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>be said for her girlfriend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should slow down, Lavender and Parvati-.”  Hermione gasped, pulling her head back from Pansy’s neck.  She chuckled, and went to yank the Gryffindor back down, but froze when she heard two giggles coming from the doorway of the dorm.  Shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-Are scarred.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>So </span>
  </em>
  <span>uncomfortable, obviously </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>we’ve seen before.  Seriously, you couldn’t slow down enough to close the curtains.  Ugh.”  Lavender said, and Pansy craned her neck, expecting to see a look of disgust on the girl's face.  Instead she saw a playful smirk and got a little wave, which she tried to return, but that was thwarted by Hermione giving her a heavy glare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Announce yourselves!  Merlin!”  Hermione sighed, and this only seemed to make Parvati more amused and Lavender more smug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... in our own dorm?  Think about that, Granger.  Hey Parkinson, you look… </span>
  <em>
    <span>cozy.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She teased, and Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, shivering a bit.  It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>freezing </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the Gryffindor dorm for once.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Parvati… could you pass me-.” Pansy vaguely gestured towards the floor near her feet and Parvati cocked her head before following the gesture and nodded, leaning down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Yeah, ‘course.  Cute bra, by the way.  Where’d you get it?”  She asked as she passed Pansy her discarded shirt.  It was a nice compliment, and at least from what Pansy could tell it was pretty genuine so she flashed Parvati a smile as she pulled her shirt back on and did about half the buttons up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?  Oh some lovely little boutique in diagon alley, I can take you sometime if you’d-.”  She heard Hermione groan from where she had taken cover beneath her pillows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is it.  This is my personal hell.”  She mumbled, and Parvati rolled her eyes and reached her foot out to lightly push Hermione.  Poking the bear seemed like a poor decision, but live your life, Pansy supposed she didn’t know exactly what went down in the dorm normally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>complimenting </span>
  </em>
  <span>your girlfriend!”  Parvati protested, and Hermione glared at her.  This should be fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow,  never realized that,  Pav.  Maybe focus on something besides her tits!” Hermione spat through clenched teeth and Pansy reached back and gently rubbed her arm in an attempt to soothe her.  She didn’t exactly want to be witness to a roommate catfight.  Merlin knows she’d seen enough of those in her </span>
  <em>
    <span>own </span>
  </em>
  <span>dorm over the years, and had been the victor of quite a few.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, as if you can blame her, honestly.  She’s objectively got a good body, of course Pav is gonna focus on her assets.”  Lavender sighed, giving Hermione a knowing smile that did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>help the seething annoyance that was rolling off the other girl.  Pansy decided that that moment was a good time to start trying to get out of this.  Just seemed like good self preservation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut it,  Lavender.”  Hermione warned, and Pansy felt her groping around for her wand, and that was her que to stand up and try to make a quick exit.  No doubt that McGonagall would probably be checking </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>soon, and there were only so many times that she expected a Professor would let her go without punishment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’m gonna go-.”  Pansy started, but a soft hand held her back on the arm.  And thank Merlin Lavender had thought it through enough to not put her arm across Pansy while she was half naked, that might’ve resulted in a duel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  No, I feel bad, don’t go!”  Lavender insisted and Pansy shook her head as she pulled the shirt over her shoulders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lav.  It’s your dorm, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>the intruder here.”  Pansy chuckled as she stood up and made quick work of buttoning her shirt back up and trying to start towards the door, but she was stopped by Lavender putting a hand on her shoulder and steering her back to Hermione’s bed, practically forcing her to sit.  Not the Gryffindor that she would </span>
  <em>
    <span>prefer </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be taking that sort of charge with her, but okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I… </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a question.”  Lavender said,  gesturing vaguely between her and and Parvati, who looked as, if not more, confused than Pansy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re going to proposition me don’t bother-.”  Pansy started, and this earned an unceremonious snort from Parvati, who’d been silent since Hermione had had the intent to hex her.  Or probably hex her, Pansy couldn’t read Hermione’s mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlins beard, how the fuck does ‘Mione deal with that ego?”  Parvati chuckled, and that prompted Hermione to prop herself up on her elbows with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m friends with the Chosen One.  I’ve had my practice.”  Hermione joked, and Pansy gave her a withering look because </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah </span>
  </em>
  <span>she’d all but forgiven Harry for almost positioning her but she still didn’t love being compared to someone who </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost killed her.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyways.</span>
  </em>
  <span>  I heard some fifth years saying that you have some… um…”  Lavender cleared her throat and glanced around, like she was afraid someone was going to hear her.  Honestly, fair, she was talking to two prefects, but she was talking to two prefects who were currently breaking the rules, so there was nothing to be concerned about.  Also, the shy act was a little irritating to Pansy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fire whiskey?”  She asked, and Lavender shook her head, leaning one shoulder against the wall.  Merlin, it was like she was asking after something illegal, which was not probable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Lavender mumbled, and Pansy raised an eyebrow, her ever growing smirk widening.  It could not </span>
  <em>
    <span>be.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Weed?”  She asked, and Lavender turned a light shade of pink as she nodded.  Pansy thought this had to be the most hilarious day so far, Lavender </span>
  <em>
    <span>Brown </span>
  </em>
  <span>asking about weed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the one.” Lavender mumbled, and Pansy’s smirk became a grin as she regarded the girl with some respect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.  Why?”  She asked, and Lavender scuffed her shoe on the ground before she spoke again.  Why was she so embarrassed?  They were 17, it wasn’t out of the realm of normality for them to be smoking, from what she heard, muggle kids did it all the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ve always been curious-.”  Pansy held up one finger to silence her and bent down besides Hermione’s bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on, I probably have some in my bag, you can just have it.”  Pansy said as she dug through the small bag she’d used to carry her books.  She never went anywhere without a little bit of it… which might be a sign of an issue, but still...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t-.”  Lavender started and Pansy shook her head as she dug out what she’d been looking for.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude.  Daph, Millie,  Tracey and I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>plenty </span>
  </em>
  <span>in our dorm, believe me.”  She said with a chuckle, standing back up and pressing the small package into Lavender's well manicured hand.  She looked conflicted, and worried her lip with her teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?  I can pay-.”  She shook her head and sighed.  Not needed, really she had enough money.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Consider it a gift.  This time.  If you don’t catch me in a compromising position next time, you’ll owe me.  Sound fair?”  Pansy asked, and Lavender sighed and nodded, pocketing the small bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Thanks, Parkinson… you’re nicer than I thought.”  She admitted, and Pansy chuckled and nodded. Hermione had certainly softened her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank your roommate.  I never was before.”  Pansy said, winking at Hermione as she made her way towards the door.  And apparently, that did nothing to get her out of hot water, because Hermione only rolled her eyes.  Okay, noted, never let Lavender and Parvati catch them in a situation… or let anyone catch them in a situation, just to be safe.  She hadn’t exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>when Harry walked in on them either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know.”  Parvati snorted, and Pansy’s jaw dropped open in shock.  She wasn’t expecting to get made fun of today.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!” She snapped, and Parvati waved her off quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kidding, kidding.”  Parvati insisted, and Pansy gave her a quick nod.  Good enough, okay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.”  Pansy snapped, and she walked briskly towards the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sort of.”  She mumbled, and Pansy turned around and shot her one more glare.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Last warning, Patil!”  Pansy growled, and Parvati rolled her eyes and sighed, leaning against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>shaking</span>
  </em>
  <span> in fear.  Now get out of here you wanker, before you get us all in trouble.” She insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes, but realized she was probably right.  She didn’t exactly feel like explaining herself to McGonagall yet again.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Telling the story of </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was missing her portion of the stash was humorous for everyone involved, apparently.  And Pansy would happily tell it a million times if it meant that Tracey would laugh, because she hadn’t done a lot of that since Daphne’s attack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re joking.  You </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be.  Lavender </span>
  <em>
    <span>Brown </span>
  </em>
  <span>asked you for weed?  She really doesn’t seem like the type.”  Tracey said with a chuckle, looking up from the small braid she was putting in Daphne’s hair as she slept.  Pansy almost wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t do that… and then she remembered that they’re still hyped up on the energy of being in a new relationship, Tracey could probably commit murder and Daphne would just smile at her.  Disgusting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, she is.  And who can really blame her?  She’s probably incredibly bored, what with all her housemates coupling up.  From what I remember, the only romantic exploit she’s ever really had is Ronald Weasley.”  Pansy murmured, which earned her a slap to the shoulder from Millicent, who honestly Pansy had forgotten was even in the room… it made her wonder just when she’d started actually listening in to their conversation, she always seemed to just tune them out.  That made her more dangerous, what with the amount of other people’s secrets that she held.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I thought you two were </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends </span>
  </em>
  <span>now.  A bit rude to talk about a friend like that.”  She sighed, and Pansy nodded.  She had to admit, Ron wasn’t the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst </span>
  </em>
  <span>person she’d ever met, sometimes he was even funny and far more bearable then she’d thought, but it was also in her nature to be a bit of a dick.  She’d probably shrivel up and die if she was nice all the time, meanness fuelled her body.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are, Millie, we are.  But that doesn’t mean that I have to stop being </span>
  <em>
    <span>myself</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  That would be a travesty.”  Pansy said, making sure to sound as dramatic as possible as she leaned over onto Millies bed, causing the other witch to roll her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, you’re a wanker.” She sighed, shoving Pansy off of her, causing her to land on her face rather hard.  But she decided to let it go, no reason to wake Daphne up with a fight.  So instead she just dusted herself off and laid back on her bed with a smug look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t I?”  She asked, and Millicent rolled her eyes, turning away from her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate how proud you sound about that.”  Millicent murmured, and Pansy nodded.  It was true, she was proud, and with good reason.  She grew her own personality from basically </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>at all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>proud of it.  I come from two parents who have the sense of humor and personality of three moldy pieces of bread.” Pansy sighed, and Tracey raised her eyebrow and cocked her head to the side.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Three?”  She asked, and Pansy nodded wisely.  She may have pulled this idea out of her ass, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t elaborate.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One and a half each.  Because they’ve been known to crack a joke </span>
  <em>
    <span>sometimes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I had to give them more then one slice each.” She explained, and Tracey rolled her eyes and nodded, flashing her a smirk.  Good, she planned on playing along.  It really depended on the day with Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, naturally.”  Tracey said, as if this made perfect sense, which only seemed to confuse Millicent more.  Pansy supposed that was fair, Millie was out of practice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, why did I start participating in these conversations again.”  She groaned, and Pansy rolled her eyes and passed her the joint with a raised eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because of this… and because you’re worried about Daph.”  Pansy teased, and Millicent glared at her and swiped the joint, taking a long drag from it before she began to speak.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>-.”  Tracey cleared her throat and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You slept on the floor beside our bed the night she got back from Mungos, I had to hop over you so I could get out to piss.”  Tracey chuckled, and Millicent looked embarrassed.  Pansy couldn’t figure out why, she hadn’t done anything embarrassing, honestly if the spot wasn’t taken she would’ve done that herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, hold on… </span>
  <em>
    <span>our </span>
  </em>
  <span>bed?”  Pansy asked, cocking her head, and Tracey rolled her eyes and nodded, as if it was obvious.  It </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they’d been sharing beds for years, how was Pansy meant to pick up on that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“It shocks me how little you notice.  You have the emotional awareness of a chestnut, Parkinson.”  She joked, and Pansy faked offense as she clutched her chest in mock sadness.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oi!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Pansy snapped, and Tracey rolled her eyes and turned back to Millicent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyways</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  It’s sweet.  How much you care.”  Tracey said with a smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what's not sweet?”  Millicent asked, and Tracey raised her eyebrow.  Great, because Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>wants to deal with her friend being in a shit mood.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  She asked, and Millie leaned forward a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you two notice how Zabini keeps trying to swoop back in?”  Millie asked, and Pansy clocked how quickly Tracey’s jaw clenched at that so </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it seemed like the other girl had noticed it just fine on her own without anyone pointing it out to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I got this bruise on my knuckle from </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy’s eyebrows shot up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you punch him?”  Pansy asked, trying her best to not sound like she was impressed, she was but she didn’t need to inflate Tracey’s personality.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  No, I hit the wall.  Thought about it.”  Tracey mumbled, and Pansy nodded.  She would’ve paid to see Tracey rearrange his face, mostly because she was 90% sure that she’d win.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should’ve.”  Pansy muttered, and Tracey sighed, running a hand through her hair as she spoke, clearly disregarding what Pansy had said.  Which was fair because she was frazzled, but it still came off as </span>
  <em>
    <span>rude</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear, it's like he doesn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>care </span>
  </em>
  <span>that she’s in a relationship.  He just… thinks he can have her.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy felt the anger well in her chest.  She’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>when Ron did that at the beginning of hers and Hermione’s relationship, so she would handle this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let's take care of that, shall we?”  Pansy said as she stood up and dusted herself off.  She was totally willing to have a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk </span>
  </em>
  <span>with Blaise.  In fact, she was looking a bit forward to knocking him down a few pegs.  But Tracey seemed to be a little apprehensive, even though she was complaining about him just a moment ago.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, you don’t have to-.”  Pansy held up a hand to silence her and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t say I had to.”  She said, and Tracey chewed on her lip and sighed, leaning back against the wall as she traced little patterns on Daphne’s back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Thanks.”  Tracey said, and Pansy gave her a curt nod.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Millie?  Wanna give me some back up?”  Pansy asked, and it wasn’t even a question, the other witch was on her feet in a heartbeat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah.”  She said, and walked over next to Pansy.  They were almost out the door when they heard Tracey clear her throat.  Honestly, she really hoped that the other witch wasn’t planning to talk her out of it.  She’d been wanting to set Blaise straight for a while a now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t that be me?  It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>relationship, after all.”  Tracey pointed out and </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah </span>
  </em>
  <span>that made sense, but Pansy wanted to defend her friends honor, and she got the feeling that Millie wanted to as well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but… you look comfortable.  Plus, hell hath no rage like Daphne getting woken up before she wants to be.”  Pansy pointed out, and this gave Tracey a pause.  Pansy knew she was right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair.” Tracey reasoned, and Pansy nodded and closed the door behind her, following Millicent out into the common room, going over everything she wanted to say as she looked around for Blaise, before setting her sights on the boy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Zabini!  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unfortunately </span>
  </em>
  <span>just the man I was looking for.”  She sighed as she made her way over, and dreaded how his face seemed to light up as he put down his copy of The Prophet and dropped his feet from the table, sitting up straighter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy Parkinson.  Growing tired of your lioness?”  Blaise asked, with the most disgusting grin on his face.  Pansy shuddered, and considered hexing him now, instead of having the conversation first, but she decided against it.   Deal with him moving on Daphne first, and if there's time, address his constant need to try and flirt with the people he can’t have.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s… gross.  No.  I need to talk to you about Daphne.”  Pansy sighed, and Blaise looked a little more interested now as he leaned forward a bit so he could speak more quietly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Yes.  How is she?”  Blaise asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She knew he really didn’t give half a shit, he never had.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Recovering fine, that’s not the point.”  Pansy said in a blase tone, thinking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>what she wanted to say to him.  About all the times he’d made Daphne sob, broke her heart, and how she was never going to let him anywhere </span>
  <em>
    <span>near </span>
  </em>
  <span>her again, if she had anything to say about it.  Frankly, Pansy was sick of seeing her best friend hurt.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… has she asked about me?  I tried to walk her to potions the other day and she told me in no uncertain terms to fuck off.”  He said, genuinely looking confused.  Pansy opened her mouth to </span>
  <em>
    <span>also </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell him in no uncertain terms to fuck off when she heard a chuckle behind her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should.”  Millicent snapped, and Blaise gave her a condescending smile and patted the back of her hand.  It made Pansy want to smack him in Millie’s defense, but she decided against it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Millie, you wouldn’t get it.  I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>feelings </span>
  </em>
  <span>for her, I always have… and normally she makes it so easy, but she’s playing hard to get-.” Pansy held up a hand to silence him and sighed, trying to calm her anger.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to knock his teeth out, but that wouldn’t achieve anything at all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Wow.  I wish I wasn’t a prefect so I could punch you right now.  Daphne’s in a happy, </span>
  <em>
    <span>healthy</span>
  </em>
  <span> relationship for the first time </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and I will not have you ruining that for her.”  Pansy spat, and Blaise let out an indignity huff and rolled his eyes, turning away from her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, right.  Like I’m supposed to believe that.  With who?”  Blaise asked, and Pansy shook her head.  Were all men this painfully oblivious to the world around them or was that </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>a Blaise Zabini special?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who do you think?”  She asked, and Blaise’s brows furrowed, like he was really thinking hard, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>drawing a blank.  Un-fucking-believable.  He wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Pansy thought, so this shouldn’t be that hard.</span>
  <span>“I haven’t seen any men around her recently.”  He said, as if he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>struggling to figure this out.  Part of her </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to lecture him about being heteronormative, but a bigger part of her did not want to be compared to her girlfriend right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s dating-.”  Pansy started, but she was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind Blaise.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tracey.”  Pansy heard a voice finished, and looked up at a very disheveled and weary looking Theo.  He hadn’t been coping well since </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the sixth year girls cut him off, not that Pansy actually cared in the slightest.  She curled her lip in disgust and looked him up and down.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Theo.  I should give you a fresh bruise on that eye of yours, it seems like yours has faded down-.”  She started and he sighed and rolled his eyes, holding his hands up in surrender.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fucking hell, Parkinson!  I come in </span>
  <em>
    <span>peace</span>
  </em>
  <span>, alright?  I acted like a child when I found out about Tracey and Daphne and that was wrong of me… I remember how hard it was for you when you were outed, and… I never should’ve said that stuff to her.”  He said quietly, as if that would fix it all.  But Pansy had no intention of letting him off easy </span>
  <em>
    <span>at all</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, what thing?  When you called her a dyke?  Or implied that she’s manipulating her?  Or-.”  He cut her off and grimaced.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All of it!  Fuck, Parkinson.  I feel bad enough already.”  Theo insisted, and Pansy let out a humourless laugh and shook her head at him.  He had </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  You </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t.  Because you didn’t have to sit in St. Mungo's waiting room scared to </span>
  <em>
    <span>death </span>
  </em>
  <span>that she was going to die.  You didn’t hold her while she writhed in pain and basically thought she was dying.  You used an unforgivable curse on your </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend </span>
  </em>
  <span>and got off with a slap on the wrist because your </span>
  <em>
    <span>nose </span>
  </em>
  <span>is so far up Snape’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>ass </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he didn’t take that big of an issue with what you did.  She’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>recovering, so excuse me if I still </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate </span>
  </em>
  <span>you.”  Pansy said through gritted teeth, but she couldn’t do much else with Millie holding her back.  She had a good reason, Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to go for her wand, but still.  Theo sighed and nodded, sitting down beside Blaise.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... That’s completely fair.”  He sighed, and Blaise clapped his hands together to gather their attention, looking completely lost.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay wait!  Since when is Daphne a dyke?  Or Tracey for that matter?”  Blaise asked, glancing between the three of them.  Pansy growled and went to step forward again, but she was still being held back.  Damn, she really wanted to hit him, it would just feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say that word again, Zabini.  See where it lands you.”  She snapped, and Blaise rolled his eyes and rested his head on his hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t mean it like that-.”  He started, and Pansy scoffed and shook her head.  How did he manage to make it look like </span>
  <em>
    <span>she’d </span>
  </em>
  <span>said something terrible?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I </span>
  <em>
    <span>received </span>
  </em>
  <span>it like that.”  Pansy explained, and Blaise sighed and nodded, like even though that annoyed him it made perfect sense.  Good.  That had been her intent.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  He sighed, and Millicent cleared her throat, stepping in front of Pansy for a moment</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And, you idiot, neither of them are lesbians… right?”  Millie asked, casting a sideways glance at Pansy, who nodded.  To her </span>
  <em>
    <span>knowledge, </span>
  </em>
  <span>neither of them were lesbians, and for the sake of the argument she figured they might as well run with it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Don’t second guess, Millie.  Just speak.” Pansy murmured, and Millicent took a deep breath and turned back to them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither of them are lesbians, they’re both Bi.  For fucks sake, Daphne dated you for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Blaise!  Not that you cared enough to notice until she </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>got over your sorry ass and moved on to someone better.  And Tracey and Theo hooked up… granted, pretty sure a lesbian can do that too, but I also have been subjected to when Tracey used to get crushes and </span>
  <em>
    <span>believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>me, she likes men too.”  Millicent said, her voice becoming shrill the more irritated she became.  Pansy was honestly a little bit impressed, and touched that Millie was willing to do this much, they weren’t always that close.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… if they can have men, why have each other?  That doesn’t make any sense.”  Blaise said with a chuckle, and Pansy rolled her eyes, but decided to let Millicent finish this part of the sentence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because they have feelings for each other.  It doesn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>matter </span>
  </em>
  <span>that they could have a man, neither of them currently want one.  They have the person they want.” Millicent said, and for whatever reason that wasn’t really sticking.  Maybe Pansy was wrong, maybe Blaise really </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>that stupid.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  Pansy took a deep breath and leaned down in front of Blaise, putting a hand on either of his knees.  She was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>make </span>
  </em>
  <span>him listen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Blaise.  Let me make myself </span>
  <em>
    <span>100% </span>
  </em>
  <span>clear.  If you don’t back off of Daphne, I will shove your wand so far up your ass that you’re casting spells with colon.  Understand?”  Pansy asked, her voice low and cold, and she watched as both the boys shifted uncomfortably, Theo almost nearly turning green even if it wasn’t directed at him to begin with.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That… was graphic.”  Millie murmured with a grimace, and yeah.  It was pretty graphic, but that was exactly Pansy’s point.  She wanted them to practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>what would happen to either of them if they interfered with her friends relationship again.  Not that she really thought Theo would, he seemed to have learned his lesson.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Do I make myself clear?” </span>
  </em>
  <span> Pansy asked through gritted teeth and Blaise nodded and raised his hands in surrender.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck!  Yes!  Merlin, I always forget what a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>psycho </span>
  </em>
  <span>you can be.  No wonder Draco dumped you-.”  Pansy clenched her fist, but before she could swing or even say anything, Theo put his hand on Blaise’s shoulder and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Low hanging fruit, Zabini.  Seriously.” Theo said, and Blaise looked at him with some contempt.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Theo, you’re supposed to be on my side.” Blaise sighed, and Theo shook his head and took a large step away from Blaise.  It was almost comical, him suddenly acting like he was on </span>
  <em>
    <span>their </span>
  </em>
  <span>side, Pansy thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well I’m actively trying to work to regain all of their trusts.  So no thanks.  Plus, I don’t want Parkinson to threaten me with the same punishment, sounds rather unpleasant.”  Theo said, and Pansy nodded.  That was the point, something unpleasant to stop them from doing anything at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it would be.”  She assured them, and grabbed Millicent’s arm, yanking her quickly back towards their dorm.  She’d done what was promised, no reason to hang around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!  Pansy.  Can… can you give this to Daphne?”  Theo mumbled, pressing a small parchment into Pansy’s palm.  She glared up at him and set her jaw.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh what, is it going to hex her-.”  She started and he was quick to shake his head, as if that was completely out of left field.  It wasn’t.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  It’s an apology note.  I want to give her the space she needs to recover, but I also want her to know that I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry </span>
  </em>
  <span>that I was such a douchebag.” He muttered, looking a little embarrassed as he did.  Good, he should be.  He acted like an idiot and used an </span>
  <em>
    <span>unforgivable </span>
  </em>
  <span>curse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll consider it.  Goodnight, Nott.”  She said curtly, shutting the door in his face before he could respond.  Besides, it wasn’t <em>her </em>apology to accept.  She’d have to wait until Daphne actually woke up.<br/></span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0057"><h2>57. Chapter 57</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Class was especially boring today, so Pansy didn’t exactly blame Daphne for slowly dozing off at the next table over.  She would’ve done the same if she wasn’t seated next to her </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>driven girlfriend, which made that impossible.  Honestly, sometimes she missed being single, at least she could skate by in classes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph…”  Hermione whispered, and Daphne’s head shot up and she sent her a heavy glare.  Pansy gave Daphne one significant look and wrapped an arm around Hermione.  She knew for a fact that Hermione was going to offer something nice to her, so the snap was unneeded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re going to tell me to wake up, Granger then I’m respectfully going to hex you until your face turns bright purple and leave it that way.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy watched as Tracey slid her hand under Daphne’s and squeezed, as if that was going to relax her.  It did, from the look of it, as Daphne’s shoulders relaxed a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow.  Descriptive, I’m honestly a little impressed.  I was going to ask if you wanted to borrow my notes because you look exhausted.  But if you wanna be a wanker-.”  The Slytherin quickly shook her head and sighed, rubbing her temples.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  Hey!  No!  Yes, I’ll take them later.  Um… thank you.”  Daphne murmured, looking down at her table, as if it was painful to make eye contact and thank Hermione.  It was a little funny to Pansy, especially since the two of them seemed to be bonding, but she supposed it was hard with Daphne.  One step forward, three leaps back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  Hermione mumbled, and Pansy couldn’t help but admire her in that moment.  It was sweet how much she was trying to help as Daphne recovered, and it only made her fall even further in love… if that was even possible at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was nice of you.” Pansy murmured, bumping into her shoulder lightly, grinning to herself when she saw Hermione’s mouth twitch like she was trying to stop a smile.  It was cute.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pay attention, love.”  Hermione muttered, and Pansy rolled her eyes and rested her head on Hermione’s shoulder, looking up at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She started, and Hermione shrugged her off and gave her a look, but she placated Pansy by taking her hand and rubbing her thumb across the top, a move that never failed to melt her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Attention.  Now.”  Hermione insisted, and Pansy sighed and trained her eyes forward.  There was maybe ten minutes left, she could do that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.”  She sighed and Hermione gave her a smile and squeezed her hand lightly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.”  Hermione whispered, and Pansy was good for the next ten minutes, faking her attention while doodling on her parchment until they were finally dismissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, would you want to-.”  Pansy wasn’t able to finish her sentence before the air around them grew cold, like walking into a snowstorm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson.”  Pansy stiffened at the sound of Draco’s voice, and looked up to see that she was seconds from crashing right into him, so she let Hermione yank her a safe distance back as she glared daggers at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get out of my way, Malfoy.”  She spat, and Draco rolled his eyes and examined his nails, which made Pansy a bit confused.  Normally he would’ve moved when she said that, he still had a bit of respect for her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to-.”  Hermione rolled her eyes and stepped in front of Pansy, still squeezing her hand, the air of coldness rolling off her heavily.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Move.”  She instructed, and Draco sniffed and sighed, leaning in until he was practically nose to nose with Hermione.  It made all of the danger alarms in Pansy’s mind go off because he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>far </span>
  </em>
  <span>too close, he could hurt her.  But she held back for now, Hermione could handle herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t address me-.”  Pansy shoved him back lightly, setting her jaw.  She would beat him up right here, daddy’s money be damned.  She stopped caring that Hermione could take care of herself, she was her </span>
  <em>
    <span>girlfriend</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  No way Draco was going to be talking to her like that, with such disrespect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t yell at my girlfriend!”  Pansy snapped, and Draco rolled his eyes and crossed his arm, jutting his chin to a nearby empty hallway.  What the fuck was that supposed to mean?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Prefect business!  We need to talk.”  He said, and Pansy paused.  Part of her, a very large part, almost all of her in fact, wanted to tell him to shove it, but a small part realized that she couldn’t do that if it was actually important.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.  If I’m not back in 15 minutes, start to worry.”  Pansy said to Hermione, and she nodded, giving Pansy’s hand a squeeze before dropping it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will don’t worry, love.”  She said, and Pansy gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before letting Draco lead her around the corner.  She leaned on the wall and sighed, wanting to get whatever the hell this was over as soon as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So what was so important that you had to-.”  Draco didn’t even let her finish her sentence before he cast an indifferent glance at her, almost eerily like his father.  Pansy always found it creepy how similar they looked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The dark lord has requested a meeting with you.”  He said, as if that was something that Pansy should want.  She snorted and rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall.  What a fucking prick.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How sweet.  Tell him I said, and I quote, ‘fuck no’.” Pansy spat, narrowing her eyes.  Did he honestly think that she would want that?  She’d made herself so clear about how she felt about that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not really a question.”  Draco chuckled, grabbing her arm as tightly as he could.  Pansy struggled against him and tried to pull away, but he held strong.  Was he planning on taking her by force?  She really didn’t think Draco had the balls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going with you.”  She spat, and Draco let out a mix between a laugh and a snort as he shook his head, restraining her easily with one arm.  Honestly, this was a bit embarrassing, Pansy had thought she was stronger than this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t really have a choice, dear.”  He purred, and Pansy shuddered.  That was a word she </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to hear out of Draco’s mouth again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dear… what the fuck is up with you, Malfoy?”  Pansy asked, finally breaking free.  She went to walk back around the corner to where Hermione was, but before she could she felt a hand on the back of her shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Petrificus Totalus.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Draco sighed, and Pansy couldn’t move.  Well, this might as well happen, honestly Pansy should’ve seen this coming.  It was sloppy to leave her back exposed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you apprehend her?”  She heard a voice call, but she obviously couldn’t turn to look, that is until she was shifted to see who Draco was talking to.  Snape.  Of course, she’d always thought something was a bit off about him, but mostly she just thought that the secret was that he’d never learned how to take a proper shower.  Deatheater was </span>
  <em>
    <span>far </span>
  </em>
  <span>worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wouldn’t go willingly.  Had to bind the little bitch.”  He spat, and Snape’s jaw clenched as he reached out and smacked the back of Draco’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t call my students that but… Very good, Lucius.  Very good.”  Snape sighed, and Pansy’s stomach lurched.  Of course.  Lucius.  They must’ve used Polyjuice to have him get through the doors.  She felt his grip on her tighten </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll get her to the manor.”  Lucius said, still handling Pansy like she was some kind of ragdoll.  She would’ve gritted her teeth if it was even possible right now, it hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Make sure no harm befalls my student, I’m still close with the headmaster after all.”  Snape said, sounding far too indifferent for someone who was letting his prefect get kidnapped.  Pansy began going over ways she could kill him in her mind.  Lucius let out a snort and shook his head, and Pansy slowly felt the hands on her growing a bit bigger.  The Polyjuice must’ve been quickly wearing off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come off it, Severus.  I won’t hurt the poor girl.”  He said, his voice coming out like honeyed poison.  Dangerous.  Pansy wished she could reach her wand, or move at all… even scream, but she doubted anyone was close enough to hear, the next class had to have started by now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll bring her back later tonight, tomorrow at the latest.  Get this done in a few hours, I don’t know how long our plan will be able to hold out.”  Snape said, and Pansy felt Lucius tighten his arm around her, his breath on her face.  Honestly, the only thing she could think was </span>
  <em>
    <span>poor Narcissa </span>
  </em>
  <span>because the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing she could smell was firewhiskey.  That had to be an unpleasant scent to be rolling off of your spouse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re our ticket back in, Ms. Parkinson. Now, don’t fall, because the last thing I need is to splinch you, the lord doesn’t want damaged goods.”  He muttered against her ear, and Pansy wished she could close her eyes.  Apparition had a tendency to make her dizzy and sick.  Luckily, it was over fast, but unluckily, she felt the disgustingly familiar feel of a cold manor around her.  Not her own, but just as bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lucius.  Right on time.  Did you bring the captive?”  The Dark Lord asked and Pansy felt like all the air in her body was gone as she tried to struggle against the binding spell, but apparently Lucius wasn’t entirely useless because it held on strong. Damn it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right here, lord.  Severus said we have a few hours and then the plan will no longer be able to work.”  He said, still holding Pansy’s arm so tight it was bruising.  Didn’t he say he didn’t want to damage the goods?  Where had that gone?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We hardly need a few hours, I’m sure.  Unbind her body, but keep her wrists bound.  Take her wand.”  The Dark Lord sighed, and Pansy let out a breath of relief as she was let free.  This relief only lasted a minute before she was shoved to her knees with her arms behind her, and she felt someone fish the wand out of her robes.  Merlin, no wonder they thought they could get away with anything, they never let anyone fight back.  Cowards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You snake nosed little </span>
  <em>
    <span>bastard</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Let me go!”  Pansy spat, and to her surprise, The Dark Lord merely chuckled and shook her head.  Well, she thought that comment would’ve probably gotten her killed, maybe she’d lucked out and he was somehow in a good mood.  Probably not, but she could dream.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t see that happening, Ms. Parkinson.  See, Draco is a… </span>
  <em>
    <span>satisfactory </span>
  </em>
  <span>spy within the walls, but we need to get someone inside who can sway the female mind, maybe convince a few ladies to our side, there’s not much use to them but of course the visual never hurts.”  He explained, sounding almost bored. That just made Pansy’s </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>join your side.  Ever.  You make me </span>
  <em>
    <span>sick</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy spat, her voice low and angry.  The Dark Lord rolled his eyes (or seemed to, Pansy found it hard to focus on his face long enough to actually tell what he was doing) and raised his wand at her, as if she were some bug he had to crush out.  Terrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Crucio</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  He sighed, as if he was casting a first year spell.  Pansy felt the pain radiate through her body, like she was being lit on fire slowly from the inside and she collapsed further on the ground and gasped heavily, her brain trying to remind her of what she’d done to deserve this </span>
  <em>
    <span>last </span>
  </em>
  <span>time.  Disobedience.  Same as now.  It was horrifying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“FUCK!”  She screamed, and The Dark Lord seemed to scoff, as if she was some child throwing a fit, not a near adult writhing in pain that had her wishing for her own swift death.  Merlin, this man was </span>
  <em>
    <span>psychotic</span>
  </em>
  <span>, not that she didn’t already know that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Langlock.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Can't exactly have you interrupting my explanation with your pitiful screams.”  He said, sitting back down, and Pansy’s eyes grew wide.  She couldn’t speak, couldn’t fight back… this was her worst nightmare come to life.  And she’d already lived through at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>worst nightmares this year.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>MMPH!”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>She tried, but the curse was too strong.  The Dark Lord shook his head, clearly amused as he stood back up and walked over, grabbing her chin to examine her closer.  Pansy flinched away and let out a sound of fear.  He was even more disturbing to look at up close, hard to believe this was once a normal man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quiet, we won’t cause you any lasting damage… probably.  All you have to do is take the dark mark.”  He cooed, as if he was telling her that he was going to buy her candy if she aced a test.  Sickening.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“MPH!”  She spat, hoping it got her point across, and luckily it did.  She watched his lip curl as he shook his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No?  What a pity. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Crucio</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  We could’ve done this the </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy </span>
  </em>
  <span>way, Ms. Parkinson.  But I suppose not.  I think we should take that pretty little mudblood girlfriend of yours, maybe then you’d be more likely to agree with us, but that would be a hassle for today.  Draco?”  He called, and Pansy’s brain was reeling.  The only thing that stuck inside it was that he’d threatened </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She wanted nothing more than to stand up and hex the life out of him, but she couldn’t move… she couldn’t talk, she was in </span>
  <em>
    <span>horrible </span>
  </em>
  <span>pain… in short she was useless right now.  And someone had her bloody wand.  It was useless, all she could do was hope that it was a bluff that no one tried to call.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes my lord- You said you wouldn’t hurt her!”  Draco gasped, looking shocked and a little bit angry.  The Dark Lord snorted and rolled his eyes, shoving Draco towards her.  For the first time in what felt like </span>
  <em>
    <span>years </span>
  </em>
  <span>she saw remorse in his cold eyes.  It was almost welcomed, if she wasn’t moments from throwing up from the pain.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh please, boy.  You obviously didn’t care that much about her, you allowed your father to kidnap her.  And she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>useless</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Take her somewhere where she won’t be bothersome.  Now.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck fuck fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, oh Merlin, it feels like my organs are being rearranged.”  Pansy gasped as tears flowed freely from her eyes, her body writhing on the floor.  After a moment she felt herself being hauled up by strong arms onto someone’s lap, feeling someone gently rub her back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, shhh.  Shhh don’t make a sound, okay?”  Draco murmured, tucking her face against his chest as he seemed to be shielding her with his own arms.  For a moment, she forgot who he was now, and she let herself be held as she tried not to scream from the pain.  Once it began to subside and she got her wits back, however, she shoved him as far away as she could and scuttled into a corner, wide eyed and looked around.  His bedroom.  Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should I </span>
  <em>
    <span>trust </span>
  </em>
  <span>you?  You’re the whole reason I’m in here!”  She spat, and he flinched away and fiddled with his wand as he trained his eyes on the floor, taking a deep breath.  Merlin, what a brat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know he was going to hurt you!  It was my father’s idea-.”  He started, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Did all of his common sense ooze out of his body throughout this year or something?  He’s not normally this naive.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco.  You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>this fucking dumb.  He is the dark lord, </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was going to hurt me if I didn’t obey.”  Pansy gasped, resting her head in her hands, feeling tears stinging at her eyes.  She’d woken up this morning </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She’d felt like the world was maybe a little less cruel, but now… she was kidnapped in her ex betrothed house.  Merlin, she should’ve known that it was all going too well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll get you out of here, I swear.”  Draco said, breaking her out of her own thoughts.  As she observed him, still in his crisp robes she couldn’t help but wonder, because it wasn’t that easy to get off of campus.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait.”  She said as Draco made his way to the door.  He paused and turned around, leaning against the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  He asked, and Pansy picked at her fingernails.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you get here?”  She asked, and Draco glanced around, as if he was scared someone was listening in.  That was ridiculous, as the only person who might hear is a house elf… and she hadn’t seen any yet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Illegal apparition.  Don’t tell.”  Draco whispered, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She could’ve sworn that apparition from Hogwarts wasn’t possible, but maybe she didn’t listen close enough to understand what was going on… and she supposed she’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>gotten </span>
  </em>
  <span>here through apparition… whatever.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But isn’t that… you know what, I don’t give a fuck right now, its not important... You’d better make good on that promise, Malfoy.  I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>have Tracey almost lose someone else.”  Pansy said firmly, and Draco nodded, chewing on his lip as he seemed to be in deep thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have to know something first.”  Draco finally said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Honestly?  What about this situation said that she wanted to have a heart to heart right now? She was still breathing heavily from the </span>
  <span>pain and wanted to rip him limb from limb.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Fine.”  She sighed, and Draco paused for a moment, like what he was going to say was hard to get out.  Maybe he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to apologize.  It’s not like Pansy can storm past him and stop him right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you… How did you know you loved Granger?”  He asked quietly and Pansy sighed.  She should’ve seen this coming, of course Draco wasn’t over Harry.  She doubted that he ever would be, given he was the first person who managed to make Draco vulnerable.  And to make him feel safe.  It really was a shame to her that they had to end, Harry really </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>make Draco a better person for a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There was just something in the way she always looked at me like I was a person, after we became friends of course.  Like she saw some humanity that other people thought I lacked… the way she was gentle with me in a way I’ve never experienced before.  Why?  Think you’re in love?”  Pansy asked, laughing bitterly, but when she looked at his face, she couldn’t help but pause.  He looked so </span>
  <em>
    <span>sad, </span>
  </em>
  <span>so lost… like this wasn’t where he wanted to be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I was.  Probably still am, but I fucked the whole thing up.  You know that.”  Draco said quietly, and Pansy struggled to sit up, leaning her back against the side of Draco’s bed for support.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Draco, if you don’t do this, he might-.”  Draco shook his head and sighed, running a hand through his hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have no </span>
  <em>
    <span>choice </span>
  </em>
  <span>anymore, Pans.  He’ll kill my family… he could kill </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Just… if that happens… Can you tell Potter I love him?”  Draco asked, and Pansy considered it.  Maybe if Potter knew, and he talked to Draco this all would stop… but that shouldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>fall </span>
  </em>
  <span>on Harry, he shouldn’t have to fix everything, and he shouldn’t have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>fix </span>
  </em>
  <span>Draco Malfoy.  That was an impossible task.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Prove it to me first, Dray.”  Pansy said, her voice low and serious.  Harry had been exceptionally nice to her after the poisoning incident, she wasn’t going to do something that might fuck with the poor boy’s mind if Draco didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely </span>
  </em>
  <span>mean it.  Draco gave her a quick nod and straightened back up, pulling his wand out as he rebound her arms.  Merlin, what a dickhead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will.  Promise.  Just… don’t die while I’m gone.”  Draco said quietly, and Pansy shrugged.  She was fairly certain that it was safe enough in here, as it was a private bedroom.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in the plan.”  Pansy insisted, and Draco let out a sigh or relief and had the </span>
  <em>
    <span>gall </span>
  </em>
  <span>to flash her a grin.  Merlin, what she wouldn’t give to hex him, he wasn’t forgiven by any means.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.”  He said, and then his face was neutral again and he left, locking the door behind him.  She was fairly certain that that was actually done for her safety, so she had to give him that.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>When had she fallen asleep?  Pansy was fairly certain she hadn’t done that willingly… Draco.  That was her best guess, because anyone else probably would’ve killed her at this point.  But being awake was good, she could keep herself safe if she was awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HOW DID HE GET IN HERE? </span>
  <em>
    <span>STOP HIM!  STOP HIM AT ONCE!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy heard the Dark Lord shout and she shook her head to wake herself up a bit more.  Stupid, she shouldn’t have fallen asleep to begin with, she was within enemy territory.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit.”  She muttered, straightening herself up.  She was not going to die pathetically laying on her back, staring at the ceiling.  She would fight however she could.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>AVADA KEDAVRA!”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>One of the death eaters shrieked, and Pansy heard someone laugh. She knew that laugh from somewhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For such a powerful witch, Bella… You’ve got </span>
  <em>
    <span>SHIT </span>
  </em>
  <span>aim! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Expelliarmus!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Wait. Pansy knew that voice, even if she’d only heard it once, and it made her perk up.  A chance at her getting out in one piece?  Yes please.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius Black?”  She muttered to herself, feeling a relieved smile threatening to spread across her face, but she couldn’t celebrate yet, the death eaters could still catch him, kill him, and then Harry would probably blame her, which would not be fun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“PANSY?  PANSY PARKINSON!”  She heard him yell, and she shook herself back into her body and sat up on her knees, her arms still bound behind her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“IN HERE!  I’M IN HERE!”  She shouted, and she heard the footsteps stop in front of Draco’s door, jiggling the handle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Locked…. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Alamora.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy heard Sirius mutter, and the door swung open.  He looked grim, which made sense, this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>the grim situation after all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius.... Why… who?”  Pansy asked, and Sirius pointed his wand at her and she slowly felt her arms come loose.  Thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that was starting to get sore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seems like my cousin finally decided to use his brain for some good, I received an anonymous tip that someone was in trouble.  Now, come on… I can’t stick around here.”  He said, pulling Pansy to her feet quickly and gripping her arm tight.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed, and luckily this time she could close her eyes for the side-long apparition, instead of arriving with the feeling of throwing up.  When she cautiously opened her eyes, she was a little shocked to see she was at Sirius’s home.  But that made sense, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>still a wanted criminal.  Sirius stepped aside and led Pansy to the couch, his face still incredibly serious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have a seat, I’ll contact Dumbledore, figure out how to get you back there the quickest.”  Sirius muttered as he turned to walk away.  Shit, she’d forgotten to thank him… that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>for sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>a dick move.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Sirius?”  She called, and Sirius paused and turned around, leaning against the frame of the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm?”  He asked, and she cleared her throat, suddenly a bit embarrassed.  Was it stupid to say thank you?  Probably not, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks… for saving me.”  Pansy mumbled, and Sirius smiled at her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder for a moment</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.  I can’t have my Godson’s friend getting tortured by my extended family.  Remus?  Tonks?  Can one of you check her for lasting damage.  I’ve got a message to deliver.  Albus really has to keep a better track of his students, he can’t be letting them get taken under his nose.”  He sighed, and</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Ms. Parkinson.  Let me get a look at you.”  Remus said, giving her a large smile.  It did make her a bit more relaxed, even if she still sort of felt like the adrenaline was going to drive her to tears.  But she didn’t want to cry, so instead she distracted herself</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did Potter-er, I mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Harry</span>
  </em>
  <span>, really call me a friend?”  Pansy asked, a little embarrassed by the fact that this made her face heat up.  She was shocked that someone as </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>as Harry Potter would describe her as a friend.  Remus gave her another small half smile as he finished examining her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He has since a couple weeks before the spring holidays.  Why?”  He asked, and Pansy shrugged ‘because I’m not good enough to be his friend… or any of their friends… because if I’d just written Draco off, maybe none of this would’ve even happened to him’ she thought.  But she decided that wasn’t the right thing to say right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just… surprising.”  Pansy muttered, and Remus nodded.  They sat in silence until he leaned back and stood up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem okay.  What did they use?”  He asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She wasn’t sure about </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>just the first part.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cruciatus, tongue locking, and a full body bind.”  Pansy recalled, not knowing if they’d used anything else after Draco had knocked her out… or did he just put her to sleep?  She had no wounds to say he’d used force, and no memory of it even happening.  Remus snorted and nodded, taking the time to examine her arms and legs with care, probably making the command decision that if there was anything under her clothing that was injured, she’d tell him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re smart.  Nothing that’ll leave lasting scars.  Why take you?” He asked, and Pansy shrugged.  That was lost on her as well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apparently Draco made it sound as though I could be of use to them.”  Pansy said, the bitterness coming through her voice.  She watched Remus’s smile falter, and he took a deep breath, holding her shoulder lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m terribly sorry dear.  I’m… do you like chocolate?”  He asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She liked it well enough.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose?”  Pansy said, and Remus nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Very good.  Wait here.  Tonks?  Keep her company.”  Remus said, and Tonks took a step from where she’d been standing behind the couch and sat beside Pansy.  She could </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>the anger rolling off the older woman as they sat in a comfortable silence.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, I could kill my aunt.”  Tonks sighed, resting a hand on Pansy’s arm.  It was nice, the comforting move after what she’d gone through.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Narcissa, right?”  Pansy asked, and Tonks sighed and nodded, rolling her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Bellatrix.” She muttered, and Pansy nodded.  Of course, the black sisters… Draco had explained his family tree to her multiple times.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s… </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>the family tree.”  Pansy murmured, and Tonks snorted and nodded, crossing her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’re telling me.  Does Hermione know you were taken?”  Tonks asked gently, and Pansy thought for a moment and felt her heart pang with guilt.  She’d told Hermione to look for her after fifteen minutes as a joke… hopefully she wasn’t too worried.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not as far as I know… she was going to look for me after 15 minutes, but apparently Lucius had used Polyjuice to pretend to be Draco so he could better infiltrate the school.”  Pansy explained.  Honestly, if it hadn’t been so traumatizing and evil, Pansy would’ve been impressed with the execution, she hadn’t even questioned if he was Draco.  She just immediately assumed so.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Lucius Malfoy is a lot of things, and a slimy good for nothing, </span>
  <em>
    <span>douchebag</span>
  </em>
  <span> is certainly one, so I’m not shocked.  He’s the biggest fucking prat I’ve ever seen.”  Tonks spat through her teeth, and Pansy heard a sound of surprise from the opposite way of the kitchen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonks!  Language, the poor girl has been through enough today, we shouldn’t be interrogating her.”  Sirius sighed, and Tonks nodded, clearing her throat as she sat a little bit straighter, casting one more glance at Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Sirius, I was mostly just… mad.  She’s just a kid, it's not fair.”  She sighed, still rubbing comforting circles on Pansy’s upper back.  A low chuckle was heard from the kitchen door as Remus came back out, holding a bar of chocolate in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“War never is.  Here, dear.  Eat.  You’ll feel better.”  He said softly, pressing the bar into her hand.  Pansy didn’t know why, but his gentleness gave her the urge to start crying.  Maybe because besides Arthur Weasely, he and Sirius were the only two men who’d ever been kind to her.  Sirius had risked himself to save her, a girl he’d met once, because a nephew he’d never even met asked him to.  Maybe… maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was what family was meant to be, maybe that's why Harry seems to still be so optimistic despite the hardships he’s endured, because he has people who actually love him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.”  She said quietly, slowly unwrapping the chocolate and taking a bite, willing herself to not spit it back out.  It was always hard to eat after something traumatic happened to her, but it always made her feel better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you like something to drink?”  Remus asked, and Pansy shook her head.  She really felt like this was all too much right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no I’m fine… your hospitality has been wonderful, I wouldn’t want to put you out.”  She said quietly, and Remus’s face softened more and he shook his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t.  We welcome visitors.”  He said, and Pansy thought for a moment.  Honestly, she would kill to chug some firewhiskey and forget about everything, but she decided that was probably an unhealthy way of coping with this, and Hermione might slap her if she gets back to the castle and she’s drunk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some water would actually be very nice.”  Pansy said, and Remus gave her a curt nod.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”  He said, and made his way to the kitchen, the silence falling in again.  It was harder to talk to them without Hermione, Harry, and Ron providing a buffer.  She felt like she was going to say something and ruin everything at any given moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um… how have you been?  Since the holiday, I mean.”  Pansy said, feeling a little embarrassed at how much she was struggling with small talk.  Wasn’t that pureblood daughter 101?  It hadn’t been <em>that </em>long.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been relatively quiet around here, laying low and planning our attacks against the dark lord.  Besides that, not much.” Sirius said, and Pansy nodded.  Well, she supposed that didn’t sound too bad at all.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds peaceful.”  Pansy tried, and Sirius chuckled and shook his head.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d think so, but it's not.  It’s terribly troublesome sometimes.”  He explained, and Pansy felt her face heat up.  Well, that was embarrassing.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry for assuming-.”  She tried, and Sirius gave her a reassuring smile.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dear, pretty soon you’re going to say you’re sorry for existing, stop that.”  He said, clearly joking, but it didn’t help her embarrassment.  Pansy sunk into the couch, silently willing herself to sink through the floor.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed, and it was as if her wills were answered because the door swung open.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sirius.  Remus.”  Pansy heard a voice call that she immediately recognized as the headmaster. Honestly, she was a bit impressed, she thought it would just be a teacher or something who came to retrieve her, not Dumbledore himself.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Albus.  You arrived quicker than expected.”  Sirius said, sounding relieved.  The headmaster nodded and practically glided into the room, nodding at Pansy as he did.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, one of my students was taken.  That is an issue of importance.  Ms. Parkinson, are you alright?”  He asked, and Pansy nodded, straightening up.  It felt rude to slouch in front of her headmaster.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes sir.”  Pansy said, clearing her throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They used Cruciatus on her, but that’s the worst thing.  Maybe keep an eye on her and make sure they didn’t sneak anything else.”  Remus piped up, and The headmaster nodded, giving her another glance.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a wise idea, Remus.  Come along now, Ms. Parkinson.  We can’t have a prefect missing for any longer.”  He said, and Pansy stood up, dusting off her skirt.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes sir.  Uh… thanks.  For the chocolate.  And the whole… saving my ass thing.  That was pretty cool of you.”  Pansy said, knowing how stinted and awkward that sounded but honestly… she was a bit too exhausted to care.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need to thank us.  Just make sure it doesn’t happen again, be careful.  And I believe this is yours, swiped it from Bellatrix.”  Sirius said, pressing her wand back into her hand.  She’d forgotten to even get it back, and felt relief at the fact that Sirius had remembered what it looked like enough to get it for her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will.  Thank you.”  She said, and she allowed The headmaster to apparate her back to Hogwarts, even as her stomach lurched.  She was probably going to throw up from how much she’d had to do that today.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Miss Parkinson.  You should make your way to your dorm, Mr. Malfoy took your slot on patrol tonight when he realized that you weren’t here.” The headmaster said, giving her a dismissive nod.  Well, that was quite the cold way to end today, but Pansy <em>did </em>suppose that she was back and safe, no reason to make the night any worse.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… right.  Thank you, sir.”  She said, flashing him a fake smile before letting her face fall as she exited his office.  She was barely out the door before she caught someone in her arms and froze.  Was this another kidnapping attempt?  No.  She recognized the body in her arms almost immediately and let out a sigh of relief.  Hermione.  Thank Merlin.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank <em>Merlin</em>.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy tucked her face against Hermione’s neck, taking a deep breath, relaxing into the familiar warmth and scent.  It was like coming home, she felt safe.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione.  <em>Merlin</em> I missed you.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione pulled back, holding either side of her head, pressing their foreheads together as she took a shaky breath.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was terrified.  <em>So </em>terrified that you weren’t going to come back… even if Malfoy promised that you would.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  That was something she hadn’t been expecting, but if Draco had taken her slot with Hermione, they were bound to speak.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You talked to him?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded and rubbed her thumb lightly against Pansy’s jawline, as if she was trying to rememorize all of her features.  Not that Pansy blamed her, this had been an eventful day.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He found me.  Apologized… didn’t give specifics, but said that he <em>promised </em>that you’d get out of the mess he’d made for you.” She explained and Pansy nodded.  He’d done that, at least and it really had seemed like he wasn’t expecting the dark lord to hurt her in any way.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, here I am.”  Pansy said, a small smile on her face as Hermione pulled her into a quick kiss before observing her again, lips pressed in a tight line.  Ah, she knew that look well, Hermione was going into prefect mode.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my love... You look <em>exhausted</em>.”  Hermione observed, and Pansy shrugged.  That seemed obvious to her, this day had been terribly taxing on her mind<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah.  Two unforgivable curses will do that to a person.”  Pansy said, clearly trying to joke, but she watched as Hermione's face displayed exactly how pissed off and terrified she really was.  She tightened her grip on Pansy before speaking.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… You need to go to Pomfrey-.”  Hermione started, and Pansy shook her head.  She did not have the energy for that tonight.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was taken care of, love.  Promise.”  Pansy insisted, wanting to stop the freak out before it started.  It seemed to work, because Hermione's shoulders sagged and she leaned in to press another gentle kiss to Pansy’s cheek.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then go get some sleep.”  Hermione said, cupping Pansy’s cheek so gently and so lovingly that she could cry.  Pansy smiled at her and held her hand against her face for a moment, taking a deep breath.  She was back.  She was safe.  She was <em>loved</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”  She insisted, and honestly she wasn't lying.  She was certain that the moment that she got back the dungeon she'd be asleep.  She let Hermione's hand drop and turned to walk away.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>And Pansy?”  Hermione called, and Pansy turned around and looked at the Gryffindor, cocking her head to the side.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  She asked, and Hermione gave her a smile.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.”  Hermione said, and this never failed to make Pansy feel better, even if it was for just a moment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too, darling.”  Pansy said, feeling a smile grow on her face as she turned and made her way down to the dungeons.  She was barely through the door before she had an armful of Daphne.  Well, it was good to know that her absence was noticed.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank <em>fucking </em>Merlin!  I’ve been worried sick, where the <em>fuck </em>have you been?”  Daphne snapped, shoving Pansy lightly.  She winced and rolled her eyes.  Honestly, as if it wasn’t obvious from her coming in looking like she’d been through hell.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kidnapped.”  Pansy said with a wry smirk, and Daphne’s face dropped even more as her fingers curled around her wand.  Oh, this should be rather fun.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am going to turn Malfoy inside out-.”  Daphne started, and Pansy sighed and put a hand on either of her shoulders.  She needed to calm her down, she was nowhere near in fighting shape right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s the only reason I’m still alive.  Yes, he’s a bastard and a coward… but he probably saved me from a much worse fate.”  Pansy explained, and Daphne’s shoulders sagged and took a deep breath, nodding.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let's get you inside, okay?  You look like hell.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy went to snap back at her, but when she actually looked at her, Pansy saw just how stressed Daphne <em>really </em>looked, so she let it go.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So kind, Daph.”  Pansy joked, and Daphne rolled her eyes, wrapping an arm around Pansy’s shoulders as they walked to the dorm.  Honestly, she was a bit surprised that Daphne didn’t slap her upside the head, but maybe she thought that she’d been through enough.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0058"><h2>58. Chapter 58</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WARNING.  There is sexual content in this chapter, if that is not something you enjoy reading, scroll to the break in the chapter and read the second half, that part is regularly scheduled content.  Have a nice day :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Honestly?  Pansy wasn’t sure how <em> possible </em> it was to slow down time, but if it was, McGonagall had for sure done it because this exam had taken forever, even longer when she got distracted by Hermione loosening her tie and running a hand through her hair.  It had no business being that hot, and Pansy decided to let her know <em> exactly </em>how she felt about it after the exam.  She managed to catch Hermione’s arm and pull her around a secluded corner, pressing a kiss to her lips before she could hear any objection.  Luckily, Hermione seemed to be on the same wavelength as she returned the kiss with equal passion and untucked Pansy’s shirt to rest her hands on her bare waist.</p><p>“Do you realize how hard you make it to focus on an exam?”  Pansy sighed against Hermione’s ear as she felt the other witches fingers tracing over her stomach.  She heard a small chuckle and Hermione leaned back a bit with a raised eyebrow, an amused look on her face.</p><p>“What?”  She asked, and Pansy shook her head.  What was unclear about that?  Hermione had been distracting since day <em> one. </em></p><p>“That <em> whole </em> exam was a waste, I was too busy staring at you.”  Pansy explained, a smile tugging up the corners of her lips.  Hermione rolled her eyes and kissed a line up the side of Pansy’s neck, causing her eyes to slide closed.  <em> Merlin </em> that felt nice.  Honestly, if Pansy thought about it, they hadn’t done anything physical since she’d been kidnapped.  It was endearing that Hermione was so worried about hurting her, but also rather annoying because she wasn’t <em> going </em>to.</p><p>“And why the hell would you be doing that?”  She muttered, and Pansy shrugged, pulling Hermione in for another kiss before she spoke.</p><p>“Because whether you believe it or not, you’re oddly sexy when you’re in your own little academic world.”  Pansy explained, and this seemed to elevate Hermione’s ego quite a bit, honestly you’d think she was just made the minister of magic from the grin she had on her face.  Pansy found this quite amusing.</p><p>“That so?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  She’d found that side of Hermione hot ever since they started dating, hard not to when half their dates were study dates and Pansy spent them staring at Hermione and <em> not </em> studying.</p><p>“Mhm.”  She said, and there was a glint in her girlfriend’s eyes.  The excitement shot through Pansy’s body like a lightning bolt and her heart sped up a tiny bit as Hermione leaned back against her neck.</p><p>“So you were thinking about us doing <em> this </em> while taking your exam.”  Hermione whispered, biting lightly on Pansy’s earlobe as her hand cupped her breast over her bra.  Pansy pulled her lip between her teeth to stop a gasp from coming out of her mouth as she tightened her grip on Hermione’s shoulders.</p><p>“Well, it was a <em> little </em> more explicit, but yeah.”  She croaked, and Hermione pulled back with a pleased hum and smirk.</p><p>“That so?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy felt her face heat up a bit.  It shouldn’t embarass her that she thought about having sex with her girlfriend, it <em> didn’t </em> embarass her.  It was just always different when she had to talk about it.</p><p>“Mhm.  For sure not something that could be done in a dark corridor.”  Pansy muttered, and Hermione chuckled and nibbled across her collarbone, nearly sending Pansy to the ground.  Honestly, she felt that was a bit dramatic, but she was also plenty worked up, so she didn’t blame herself.</p><p>“<em> Merlin </em> , you’re going to be the death of me.”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy chuckled and raised an eyebrow, rubbing little circles on Hermione’s back with her thumbs.  Still a ball of tension, even when she was perfectly relaxed.</p><p>“Hm, what a shame that would be.”  Pasny smirked, and Hermione paused for a moment before tugging her off the wall.<br/><br/>“C’mon.”  She insisted, and Pansy paused.  As much as she trusted her girlfriend, anything could be a trap these days.</p><p>“Where are we going?”  Pansy asked, because she was certain that both of their dorms had people in them, but that thought was wiped from her mind when she saw <em> that </em> look in Hermione’s eyes.  It sent a shiver down her spine, and suddenly she no longer cared if their dorms were empty, they were witches, they could cast a silencing charm and no one would be the wiser.</p><p>“I happen to know that Lav and Pav are out at black lake enjoying their final day of term, meaning my dorm is completely empty.  I probably can’t say the same thing for you.  But… Wanna turn those thoughts into a reality.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy swallowed heavily and cleared her throat.  No matter how many times Hermione alluded to the idea of them having sex, Pansy was never ready to hear it come out of her mouth.  <em> Especially </em> paired with that smirk. She was certain that no one would believe her that <em> Hermione Granger </em> was the one who started most of their sexual encounters, it sounded ridiculous even to her, and she was the one experiencing them.</p><p>“<em> Yes </em> .”  She hissed, and Hermione grinned, biting down once more on Pansy’s collarbone before kissing up the column of her throat.  It was absolute torture when she was in a teasing mood, but Pansy had been expecting it.  She always got cocky after an exam, and her cockiness gave way to teasing, it seemed to inflate her ego even more.  Not that Pansy had much to complain about when it happened, it was pleasant enough.</p><p>“That’s what I thought.”  Hermione chuckled against her throat before pulling her along, up the many flights of stairs, trading kisses the whole way.  Pansy knew it was rather <em> obvious </em>what they were going to do, but she couldn’t bring herself to care right now, it was the last day of term, what was anyone going to do?  Give her detention?  It wouldn’t do any good.</p><p>“I missed you.”  Hermione mumbled as she kicked her dorm door shut and attached her lips to Pansy’s neck, leading her backwards to her bed.  Pansy swallowed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the moment for another second before pointing out the obvious.</p><p>“We’ve <em> literally </em> been together this whole time.” She pointed out as she fell down to sitting.  She’d expected Hermione to follow suit, that's how it normally went, but instead she was left cold.  When she looked up at Hermione she was looking at the ground as if she was supremely embarrassed.  Clearly that was meant to be a romantic line, and apparently Pansy had ruined it with a poorly executed attempt at a joke.  Wonderful.  Wonderful <em> fucking </em>job, she thought to herself.</p><p>“Yeah but-.”  Pansy’s smirk turned into a leering grin as she rested her hands on Hermione’s face, staring up at her.  Rare was the day that she actually caught her girlfriend looking <em> this </em>embarrassed, and what kind of a person would she be if she didn’t choose to capitalize on that?</p><p>“<em> Oh </em> .  I get it.  You miss having me in your <em> bed </em>.”  Pansy teased, and Hermione sighed and looked away from her, crossing her arms across her chest.</p><p>“You make it so cheap when you say it like that.”  Hermione mumbled, and Pansy’s eyes widened.  Seriously, how the hell was she this close to ruining this <em> right now </em> ?  It was like she’d lost <em> all </em>her ability to actually flirt.  Or Hermione was stressed about something that she wasn’t talking about and was taking everything a little more at face value, but either way she felt the need to run damage control.  Pansy lifted a hand and tilted Hermione’s chin down so they were making eye contact before she spoke.</p><p>“No!  No, that’s not what I meant.  I-I really like when you’re like this.”  Pansy admitted, and she watched the small smile return to Hermione’s face, and let out a small breath of relief.  Saved the moment, good.</p><p>“Really?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy chuckled and nodded, catching Hermione’s hand and pressing a quick kiss to the palm, and then to the outside.</p><p>“‘Mione, I wouldn’t lie about that.”  She insisted, and Hermione let out a sigh and nodded, like she still wasn’t convinced.</p><p>“I know, it’s just-.”  Pansy sighed and reached forward to cup Hermione’s face.</p><p>“Stop thinking so much.  This is one of those times we’ve decided that you don’t have to think, remember?”  She said softly, and Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment before taking a deep breath and nodding, resting her forehead against Hermione’s.</p><p>“Yes, right.  Sorry.”</p><p>“Are we good to keep going now?”  Pansy asked, completely prepared to just lay down and cuddle with Hermione if it wasn’t okay, but she got a simple nod in response.</p><p>“Mhm.”  Hermione murmured, capturing Pansy in another searing kiss as she shakily undid Pansy’s tie and made quick work of the rest of her uniform, leaving her in only her undergarments, which was what Pansy was hoping would happen.  She’d picked this out for Hermione, and hadn’t gotten the chance to wear it yet.  It had the desired affect because Pansy felt like she was being lit on fire from the intensity of Hermione’s gaze, staring heavily with her jaw slack, hands still resting on Pansy’s thighs.  She took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Hermione’s neck and pepper more kisses across it.</p><p>“Like what you see?”  Pansy asked in a teasing voice, because she already knew the answer.  This particular set had been bought for the sole purpose of making Hermione want her, and it seemed to work perfectly.  The Gryffindor nodded dumbly from where she was stuck at the foot of the bed, digging her nails in slightly on Pansy’s lower thigh.</p><p>“When did you get <em> that? </em> ”  Hermione asked, her voice coming out rough and low.  Pansy shivered as she raised an eyebrow, getting up on her knees so she could undo Hermione’s shirt as she spoke.  Double task, make good use of time, do <em> not </em>get caught like last time, Pansy thought to herself.</p><p>“Okay, remember the day after Easter dinner, Ginny came and got me from Sirius’s?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione’s breathing got heavier as Pansy slid her fingers over her upper chest for a moment before continuing her task at hand.</p><p>“Yes.”  Hermione finally answered, and Pansy’s smirk grew as she listened to her girlfriends slightly laboured breathing.  Music to her ears.</p><p>“She and I went shopping in muggle London.  Just for fun.  And because I realized I never bought her a christmas gift and I felt rather guilty.”  Pansy explained, reaching the near bottom of Hermione’s shirt before she was stopped by Hermione dragging her fingers across her abdomen, causing her to pause for a moment and close her eyes, losing herself in the feeling.</p><p>“<em> Merlin.  </em> Remind me to thank Ginny because this looks <em> amazing </em>on you.”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy shivered again under her gaze.</p><p>“Really?  Didn't seem like my color.”  Pansy murmured, eyeing the red lingerie with some contempt.  The sheer <em> amount </em>of shit she’d gotten when her girls had seen what she was putting on really told her that it wasn’t.</p><p>“It is… but why were you wearing it?  We weren’t planning to do anything.” Hermione said, and Pansy arched her brow.</p><p>“So I can’t look sexy for myself?”  Pansy asked jokingly, and Hermione rolled her eyes and smacked her arm before speaking.</p><p>“Of course you can, I’ve just never had it that you’ve dressed up when we weren’t planning on it.” Hermione pointed out, and Pansy wanted to correct her.  She’d worn sexy lingerie plenty of times before and while they were dating for a non sexy reason, Hermione had just never encountered it.</p><p>“Well, a helpful amount of hoping never hurt anyone.”  Pansy pointed out because <em> yeah </em>, she’d woken up hoping for this, that wasn’t a bad thing to want.</p><p>“You are <em> insufferable </em> .”  Hermione sighed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  As if she didn’t <em> love </em> it, Pansy knew she did.</p><p>“I’m sorry?  Who propositioned <em> who </em> in a hallway?”  Pansy asked with a chuckle, and Hermione’s face dropped for a moment before she began to speak.</p><p>“Well-.”  She tried, as Pansy struggled with the last few buttons on her shirt.  The already exposed skin was making it <em> very </em> hard to think, but she’d committed herself to getting the damn thing off first.  It was always easier with less in the way.<br/><br/>“That's what I thought.”  Pansy said with a grin as she finally pushed Hermione’s shirt off of her shoulders and took a moment to admire the woman in front of her.  No matter how many times she actually saw Hermione naked, it never got old.  It was like she managed to get more beautiful every single time, it honestly left Pansy in awe.  She leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to Hermione’s lips before beginning her slow descent in earnest.  She nibbled at Hermione’s jaw, left open mouthed kisses down her neck.  It might seem odd, but Pansy had a particular liking for Hermione’s collarbone, probably because any marks she might leave there were so easily hidden by a shirt collar or a tiny dab of concealer.  And because it was one of Hermione’s biggest erogenous zones, she’d learned that their second time together when Hermione had all but dug a chunk out of her back with her nails when Pansy had decided to leave marks across them.  Not that she’d minded, she quite liked the reminder that Hermione really was enjoying herself.  Pansy pulled herself from her musings and sucked on the flesh there, over and over until there were an array of barely there marks, more for Hermione’s feel then anyone else to look at.  Pansy went to move to the other side when Hermione put a trembling hand on her shoulder to stop her.  For a dreadful moment, Pansy thought she’d done something wrong, mistaken a signal, but when she looked up at Hermione’s face she found just the opposite.  Her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily with her lip pulled between her teeth.</p><p>“Jesus <em> Christ </em> .”  Hermione sighed after a moment as she opened her eyes and looked down, running a finger across Pansy’s jaw.  Pansy raised an eyebrow and cocked her head at what Hermione had said.</p><p>“Who?”  She asked, and she vaguely remembered hearing <em> something </em> about a Jesus, but it just hadn’t stuck.  Not that anything muggle that she’d learned about before this year ever had, so she was willing to cut herself some slack.  Hermione shook her head and cleared her throat, lightly shoving at Pansy’s shoulders.</p><p>“Not important, lay down.”  Hermione instructed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow as she observed Hermione’s state.  Still mostly clothed, <em> clearly </em> Pansy wasn't done.<br/><br/>“Why?” She asked, and Hermione took a deep breath.</p><p>“Because if you were to keep doing <em> that </em> while I’m standing up I’m going to lose my balance and look like a fool, which will ruin the mood.” Hermione admitted, and this only stroked Pansy’s ego even more.</p><p>“Pretty hard for you to ruin the mood, but I guess I can accommodate.”  Pansy teased, and Hermione rolled her eyes.<br/><br/>“Oh <em> thank you </em> for allowing me to lay in <em> my </em> bed.”  Hermione said sarcastically, and Pansy flashed her a wide smile as she pulled the other witch on top of her, almost groaning at the skin to skin contact.  It had been <em> far </em> too long.</p><p>“You’re welcome.”  She sighed as Hermione's fingers slid down her body, effectively wiping her brain clean of thoughts besides of her.</p><p>“Lost for words?  How unlike you.”  Hermione teased, and Pansy did her best to think of a retort.</p><p>“I-.”  Pansy’s breath caught in her throat as Hermione ran a single finger over the soaked fabric, making a small noise of approval.</p><p>“You’re so wet… which is <em> so </em>inappropriate considering we were just in an exam room with all our peers.”  Hermione mused, and Pansy genuinely felt like she might die if Hermione didn’t touch her right then.  And she didn’t, she ghosted her fingers</p><p>over Pansy’s thighs, always staying just shy of where the other witch needed her.</p><p>“I was only focused on you.”  Pansy panted, curling her fingers in the sheets as she allowed Hermione to continue her torturously slow teasing.  Normally she’d insist that the other witch sped up, they didn’t have all day,  but today she couldn’t seem to find the words or the reason to do that.  It felt like <em> heaven </em>when Hermione took her time.</p><p>“Mmm, charming.”  Hermione murmured, <em> finally </em> dipping her fingers under Pansy’s panties, running her fingers over the soaked flesh.  And just like that, just like <em> always </em> , if Pansy had had any coherent thoughts left they were wiped away.  It should embarrass her, how quickly Hermione managed to work her up, in fact it did for a bit… but clearly it didn’t bother <em> Hermione </em>so she let it go.</p><p>“Hermione… please...” Pansy gasped, squirming in an attempt to get any actual friction.  Her movements were in vain as she listened to the low chuckle of the other witch</p><p>“Please what?”  She teased, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Insufferable.</p><p>“<em> Get on with it.”  </em>Pansy said through gritted teeth, and she almost let out an actual whimper when this resulted in Hermione fully withdrawing her hand.</p><p>“Hm.  Attitude.  Not becoming.”  Hermione murmured, leaving soft kisses down the centre of Pansy’s abdomen, like she was trying to map her way down.  It made Pansy blush in a way she couldn’t quite comprehend as she laced her fingers carefully through the other witch’s hair, careful not to tangle it.  She knew how long Hermione spent on her hair, what with the lectures she’d been given in the past.</p><p>“Please, you love it.”  Pansy muttered, trying in vain to get control of her breathing as Hermione reached the waistband of her panties and stopped, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow and the cockiest smirk Pansy had <em> ever seen </em>on her face.</p><p>“Shut up.”  She chuckled, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Really?</p><p>“Make me.”  Pansy challenged, and Hermione’s eyebrows raised again as she pulled the ruined panties down in one fluid motion that Pansy was a little impressed by before sucking the sensitive skin on her inner thigh between her teeth.  Pansy’s eyes slid closed as she let out a content sigh, completely willing to just let Hermione <em> ruin </em>her.</p><p>“Is this okay?”  Hermione mumbled, her voice muffled against the skin of Pansy’s thigh.  Really?  She expected coherent thought right <em> now </em>?  Pansy slowly brought herself up on her elbows and gave Hermione a look before speaking.</p><p>“Merlin's beard, Granger.  If you don’t do something in the next five seconds I’ll just go- <em> oh.”  </em>She sighed, her head falling back on the pillow with a blissful smirk as Hermione’s tongue took its first swipe through her folds.</p><p>“You’ll <em> what </em>dear?”  Hermione asked, raising her head, and Pansy whined a bit at the loss of contact, and tried pushing her lightly back down, to no avail.</p><p>“N-nothing.  Never mind.”  Pansy gasped, and she heard a quiet chuckle come from her girlfriend.  Oh. great.</p><p>“No, I’m curious about what you were threatening. And where you were planning to go stark naked, because while I’m very secure in our relationship, I think it’s fair that I don’t want you giving my <em> entire </em> common room a show.”  Hermione teased, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed, looking up at the tapestry above her.  It was moments like this that she cursed herself for falling for someone so… <em> Hermione.   </em></p><p>“Bastard.”  Pansy huffed, and she heard the small chuckle from her girlfriend.</p><p>“Mhm.  So mean, I know.”  Hermione whispered as she dove back down, licking and sucking in earnest.  Honestly,  the sound that left Pansy’s lips was enough to make her blush.  If her parents hadn’t already disowned her, they certainly would if they ever caught wind of the lewd way she moaned when her girlfriend put her tongue to good use.</p><p>“<em> Fuck, </em> Hermione.  Just… keep doing that.”  Pansy gasped, writhing under her girlfriend’s tongue as she gently tugged on Hermione’s hair.  It was bliss, <em> pure </em>bliss.  She felt a hand position at her entrance and Hermione’s movements paused for a moment.</p><p>“Okay?”  She asked and Pansy cleared her throat, willing her voice to work.</p><p>“<em> Yes </em> ,  Merlin, yes.”  Pansy said, nodding quickly as she felt Hermione’s finger slide and curl inside her.  That was all it took before Pansy was cumming, letting out a guttural moan of Hermione’s name that had her thanking <em> Merlin </em>for the strength of Hermione’s silencing charms.  After another few moments she collapsed back on her girlfriends bed, boneless and panting as she tried to regain her wits.  She barely felt Hermione kissing her way back up her body, retracing the pattern she’d taken down, until her lips were caught in a soft kiss.</p><p>“Hm.  I guess you weren’t lying about the exam.  That’s the fastest you’ve ever-.”  Pansy didn’t give her the chance to finish before she was guiding her onto her back, desperate to return the favor.</p><p>“Lay down.”  Pansy instructed, but Hermione paused for a moment.</p><p>“You don’t have to-.”  Pansy cut her off with a chuckle and shook her head as she made quick work of undoing Hermione’s bra, tossing it unceremoniously on the floor beside the bed.</p><p>“I’m well aware that I don’t have to, love.  Obviously I want to.  If you want me to.”  Pansy said, careful to give Hermione an obvious out.  Hermione sighed and nodded</p><p>“I do, it’s just-.”  She started, and Pansy grinned and pressed a column of kisses down her neck.</p><p>“Stop thinking so much.”  Pansy insisted as she pushed Hermione’s skirt and panties off, groaning to herself when her fingers met the wet flesh.  Obviously she was aware that her girlfriend enjoyed herself, but it never failed to shock her just how <em> much </em>she did.</p><p>“<em> Fuck </em>.  Feels good.”  Hermione panted as Pansy added another finger and curled it to hit the spot inside Hermione that was bound to make her fall apart.</p><p>“Well, that <em> is </em> the point-.”  She joked, and that earned her a look.  Fair.</p><p>“Drop the attitude, Parkinson.  Because I can finish this on my own-.”  She rolled her eyes and sped up her movements enough to make Hermione’s jaw go slack again as she leaned her head back, letting out a shuddery sigh.</p><p>“Shh.”  Pansy muttered as she bit down on her collarbone and sped up the circles on her clit as Hermione’s body began betraying just how close she was.</p><p>“Oh.  Pansy I’m-.”  Hermione choked on her last word as Pansy felt the familiar flutter around her fingers and left a lingering kiss on Hermione’s pulse point until the girl slouched against her.  At this point, she withdrew her fingers and made quick work of cleaning them off, making sure to catch Hermione’s eye as she did.</p><p>“<em> Merlin, </em>you always taste divine.”  Pansy whispered, before cupping Hermione’s chin and pulling her into a sweet kiss.  When they broke apart, however, the Gryffindor looked a tad unsure as she laced their fingers together.</p><p>“You know you don’t <em> have </em> to do that, right?  I can just cast <em> scorgify </em>.”  Hermione mumbled, and Pansy had to laugh as she looked into her girlfriends eyes.  The worry was cute.</p><p>“Seriously?  We’ve slept together multiple times now, you don’t have to say that <em> every time </em>.”  Pansy sighed, brushing a curl behind Hermione’s ear.  She shrugged and tucked her head against Pansy’s chest.</p><p>“I never want you to feel forced.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes, pressing a gentle kiss to Hermione’s hairline.</p><p>“Trust me, I don’t.”  Pansy insisted, and this seemed to quell Hermione’s nerves.  It always did.</p><p>“Good.”  She said, and they were silent for a moment, with Pansy running her fingers over Hermione’s hair before her curiosity got the better of her.</p><p>“So, not that <em> I’m </em>complaining, but clearly something had you all worked up too.  Get some good news?”  She asked, and Hermione shrugged and pressed a kiss to Pansy’s chest before speaking.</p><p>“No, not really.  Just realized that this is our last day of sixth year, I wanted to make it special.  Especially since… who knows about what could happen next year, right?”  Hermione said quietly, and the air in the room grew still and cold for a long moment before Pansy sat a bit more up, prompting Hermione to look her in the eyes.</p><p>“Hey.  The day is special anyways, just because you’re here, okay?  We don’t have to have sex to make it special, as much as I enjoy that with you.  I would’ve been happy just laying with you.”  She muttered gently, and watched as a large grin grew across Hermione’s face.</p><p>“Merlin, you’re so annoyingly charming.”  Hermione sighed, tucking her face against Pansy’s neck.  She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the other witch, feeling at peace.</p><p>“Only around you.”  Pansy muttered, and she felt Hermione chuckle against her pulse point.</p><p>“Hm.  Seems that you’ve gone soft on me, Parkinson.”  Hermione teased, but Pansy was suddenly too tired to really fight back on that.  She’d let Hermione have that, at least until they woke up.</p><hr/><p>Pansy felt an angry glare on her as she slid into her normal seat beside Daphne, and glanced over at the other girl with a raised eyebrow.  She was silent for another moment before her annoyance seemingly got the better of her.</p><p>“Okay, where in Merlin's name were you after exams today?  I thought you me and Tracey were going to finish off your stash in our dorm.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy felt her stomach drop.  She’d forgotten about those plans, it seemed like forever ago when they’d agreed on it.</p><p>“Shit.  You’re right, I forgot we had plans.  I was, uh, celebrating the end of term with Hermione.”  Pansy muttered, and Daphnes glare softened as she chuckled and shook her head, elbowing her lightly.  Pansy glanced across the room and caught Hermione’s eye, who gave her a small wave which she returned with a wink.  It was a small moment, a sweet moment just for them.  And of course Daphne had to ruin it.</p><p>“Merlin, I swear you guys would celebrate <em> anything </em>by doing that.  But at least the red monstrosity you were wearing makes sense now.”  Daphne sighed, and Pansy flicked a bit of food at her and gave her a look before speaking.</p><p>“Oh as if you don’t?”  Pansy teased, and Daphne went worryingly silent for a moment.</p><p>“Tracey and I haven’t…” She trailed off and it clicked in Pansy’s head.  She gave a quick look of apology before speaking again.</p><p>“Oh.  I… I didn’t mean to assume-.”  She was cut off by Daphne's hand on her shoulder.</p><p>“Parkinson, it’s <em> fine </em>.  I mean it makes sense, by this point in my relationship with Blaise I was already spending full nights in his dorm.”  Daphne reasoned, and Pansy nodded.  She’d been thinking that when she said it.</p><p>“So… what’s the hold up with T?”  Pansy asked, and she meant it without any teasing.  Daphne really <em> loved </em>Tracey, and she seemed to touch those she loved quite a bit.  But the other witch merely shrugged and took a sip from her cup before speaking.</p><p>“I want… no.  I <em> need </em> to make it special for her, because I <em> don’t </em> need to fuck this up.  That’s the last thing I want.  So I won’t be making <em> that </em>move until she does.”  She explained, and Pansy nodded.  That did make sense, and it explained Daphne's slowness.</p><p>“Noble.  I respect that.”  Pansy admitted, and Daphne was about to speak before they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat, and they looked up to see Tracey, standing with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“Hey.  What’re we talking about?”  Tracey asked, and Daphne paled a bit, giving Pansy a pleasing look.</p><p>“Daphne was giving me shit for missing our session.”  Pansy said, the lie coming smooth off her tongue.  Well, technically not a lie, just omitting a chunk of the truth.  Tracey snorted as she sat down on Daphne's other side.</p><p>“Good.  You ruined it, you fucking bitch.  It’s <em> your </em> stash, we couldn’t just <em> take </em>it.”  Tracey snapped, but Pansy caught her eye enough to see the good natured smirk as she laced her fingers with Daphnes, dropping a quick kiss on the back of her hand.</p><p>“Never stopped you before.”  Pansy said, reminding them of all the times they’d smoked her shit without asking.</p><p>“Finishing it would be a douche move.”  Tracey pointed out, and Pansy shrugged.  Okay, she had a good reason why not.</p><p>“Fair point.”  She admitted, and they were quiet for a bit.</p><p>“Pans… are you okay?”  Daphne asked after a long silence, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  That question was sort of out of nowhere.</p><p>“Hm?  Yeah.  Why?”  Pansy asked, and Tracey let out a sigh, leaning around her girlfriend.</p><p>“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you got <em> kidnapped </em>last week and you’re not talking  about it.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She just wanted to enjoy the feast.</p><p>“I’m fine.”  Pansy mumbled, and Daphne snorted and shook her head, as if that was not to be believed.  Why couldn’t she just be okay?</p><p>“You stumbled in here looking like you’d narrowly escaped death.  What happened?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She didn’t wish to relive this <em> again </em> , she’d already had to tell the story to McGonagall <em> and </em>Dumbledore.</p><p>“Mild torture.  Like I said.”  Pansy said, picking at the food on her plate, desperate to talk about anything else.  But apparently Daphne wasn’t having that today.</p><p>“But-.”  She tried again, and Pansy sighed and set down her fork.</p><p>“He was trying to force my hand.  To make me join despite the fact that I had no intention of doing so and <em> still </em>don’t.”  Pansy insisted, and she watched the anger steadily flow into Daphne's body until she was pushing back from the table and trying to stand up.</p><p>“I’m gonna kill Malfoy-.”  She started, but both Tracey and Pansy wrestled her back into her seat.  Honestly, what good was it going to do at this point?</p><p>“Draco wasn’t the one who took me.” Pansy said, and Daphne paused and gave her an annoyed look, but stopped struggling to stand.</p><p>“Bullshit.  Hermione saw him-.”  Daphne protested, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Her friend wasn’t stupid.</p><p>“There are ways to steal an identity.”  She reminded Daphne, and that gave her pause, like she was trying to figure it out.</p><p>“Polyjuice?”  Tracey offered, and Pansy nodded</p><p>“Mhm.”  She mumbled, and saw the girl shiver a bit.</p><p>“That’s sort of creepy… the thought that some random adult just came in and took you and <em> nobody </em>managed to see it happen.”  Tracey admitted, and normally Pansy would agree, if she didn’t know the details surrounding the whole thing.  How their teacher who they were meant to trust was in on it all.</p><p>“Not a random.  Draco's father.”  Pansy muttered, and that only seemed to work Daphne up more.</p><p>“Of <em> course </em> it was Malfoys dad.  The only man I’ve met who is more <em> pretentious </em> than his son.  I wish I could-.”  Pansy sighed and shook her head.  As much as she <em> also </em>wanted to end Lucius’s pitiful life, that wouldn’t do any good.</p><p>“You can’t.”  Pansy said, and Daphne huffed and rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Obviously I know that.”  Daphne sighed, and suddenly the air was cold as someone settled across from them, and Pansy felt Daphne's hand fly to her arm</p><p>“Pansy… can we talk?”  Draco asked quietly as he sunk into the seat across from her.  She felt Daphne’s nails dig into her wrist under the table and almost cried out from the pain.</p><p>“We can talk here.”  She said through gritted teeth, and Draco raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“I was hoping for privacy.”  He muttered, eyeing Daphne and Tracey who made no move to leave.  There was only one way Pansy could think of to tell if this was an imposter or not.</p><p>“What color panties was I wearing when Crabbe tried to pull my skirt up in fifth year?”  Pansy asked, and she heard Tracey choke on her food at the candidness of that question.  But Draco wasn’t fazed as he shrugged.</p><p>“Easy.  White.  And,  for your information, I beat the <em> shit </em>out of him for that.”  Draco reminded her, and Pansy felt the nervous knot in her stomach loosen a bit.  Not another kidnapping attempt, very good.</p><p>“It really is you.”  She said softly, and Draco nodded.</p><p>“Mhm.  And I need to tell you something… you need to watch your back tonight, be in your dorm before curfew.”  He said quietly, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She didn’t have rounds tonight, so it wasn’t as if she was <em> planning </em>for a late night run around the castle or anything.</p><p>“Okay?”  Pansy said in a questioning voice, and watched as Draco seemed to wrestle with something in his mind as he chewed on his lip.</p><p>“And… tell your girlfriend the same.  Nothing is ever going to be the same tonight and… I don’t want you dead.”  Draco whispered, and Pansy was equal parts touched and suspicious that Draco had mentioned Hermione.  What was he planning?</p><p>“Why save her?”  Pansy asked, as if she wasn’t relieved that Draco seemed to be a bit less of a douche at the moment.  She saw his gaze soften slightly as he spoke.</p><p>“Pans, I’m not an idiot.  I mean, I’ve been one but.. it’s clear that she’s the one you love.  I’ve disrespected that enough.  Just steer clear.  Ignore the noise.  And… I hope you find it in your heart at some point to forgive me.”  Draco said, sounding so serious and somber that it almost seemed like he was planning murder.  But that was impossible, Draco was a lot of things but Pansy struggled to see a world where he was a murderer.</p><p>“Draco-.”  She tried, and he shook his head and stood up, glancing around the room as he straightened his tie.</p><p>“I’ve gotta go.  See you later, Parkinson.  Maybe.”  He said, and walked off, looking more casual than Pansy thought he should be allowed to, what with the ominous conversation he’d just had.</p><p>“What the fuck was that?”  Daphne finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.  Pansy shrugged and took another bite of her food, determined to expose Draco, because she doubted that he was just being nice and trying to protect her.</p><p>“Hell if I know.  And hell if I’m gonna listen.  Any of you up for one last excursion tonight?”  Pansy asked, and the two girls were silent for a moment, before both nodding.  Good.  Pansy didn’t plan on doing this alone, and Hermione would probably try and talk her out of it.</p><p>“Sure.”  Daphne said, her voice bored.</p><p>“Mhm.”  Tracey said, and Pansy nodded.  Perfect</p><p>“Good.  I’m gonna expose whatever the fuck that blonde bastard has planned.  And you two are going to help me do it.” Pansy said, a crooked smirk on her face.  That would be the perfect way to close out the year.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0059"><h2>59. Chapter 59</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW:  Torture, blood, violence, knives and description of injury.  DO NOT read this chapter if any of that is something that will harm you.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Okay, can I just point out that we should be spending our last day of term hanging out in our dorm and smoking, reminiscing about the year but </span>
  <em>
    <span>instead</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Instead we have to go track the ferret boy as if that's going to stop him.”  Daphne sighed, pulling her robe tighter around her.  Pansy rolled her eyes and held a finger to her lips, trying to time it exactly right so they’d manage to leave their dorm with just enough time to see Draco leave the common room.  It’d been a bit of work, and a bit of research that Pansy had done for a bit -which mostly consisted of asking Hermione thinly veiled questions about muggle spies, as if that would help-, and now she was in full </span>
  <em>
    <span>stakeout </span>
  </em>
  <span>mode…. At least she was fairly certain that was what Hermione had called it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you shut up?  You’re distracting me!”  Pansy hissed, pressing her ear against the door for a moment before shaking her head.  She’d lost what she’d been hearing, wonderful.  Tracey shoved her away from the door and glared at her, pressing her ear to the wood to take Pansy’s place.  Honestly, she should’ve done that sooner, Pansy knew she was the one with the most attention to detail.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t understand why you didn’t ask Potter to borrow his stupid fancy cloak.”  Tracey sighed, and Pansy rolled her eyes and pointed at the bag she had slung over her shoulder.  Of course she’d been smart enough to ask Potter for the cloak, that would’ve been a missed opportunity for her.  She’d always been rather curious about what exactly his invisibility cloak was like.  But she’d promised him that it would only be used for her secret business, and weirdly enough that had worked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did.  And I have it in my bag for </span>
  <em>
    <span>later</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  We don’t need it right now.” Pansy hissed, and relished in the moment of silence while Daphne was probably scheming about how to get the bag.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait for real?  Can I see it?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Was that seriously what she was thinking about at this moment?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  Focus.” She insisted, and Daphne rolled her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re no fun.”  Daphne pouted, and Pansy glared behind her, a little miffed at how childish her friend was actually being right now </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>meant </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be fun, this could be a matter of life or death.”  Pansy reminded her, and Daphne rolled her eyes and sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She muttered.  Tracey cleared her throat and shot them both a glare.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sh!  You two need to knock it off, you’re acting like children.  Plus, he just left his dorm.”  She sighed, pushing off the door and flicking some of the hair out of her eyes.  Pansy palmed her wand and rolled it between her hands as she tried to keep her anxiety at bay at the thought that she might have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>duel for the first time in so long.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, come on, we don’t want to lose him.”  Pansy said, putting on a brave face as she shoved past Daphne and Tracey and yanked the door open.  Now or never.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where the hell is he going at 10:00?  Doesn’t he hate being out of his dorm unless he’s doing rounds?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Seriously?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>That's </span>
  </em>
  <span>what Daphne had to offer to this conversation?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>death eater</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Suffice to say anything we used to know about him is no longer viable.”  Pansy said, her voice deadpan, and Daphne opened her mouth to protest, but instead just nodded, grabbing Tracey’s hand and making the silent motion for Pansy to lead the way.  Luckily, Draco was </span>
  <em>
    <span>shockingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>easy to track, after all that hair was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead </span>
  </em>
  <span>giveaway.  They followed him all the way up to the familiar corridor, and Pansy felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.  She knew what this probably meant.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait… what is this place?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy sighed and glanced around the corner at where Draco was murmuring at the wall.  He must be going back to the cabinet… maybe he hadn’t finished it yet.  But then why was he apologizing to her about all those things?  Unless he was doing something that was going to cause damage to their classmates or school...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The room of requirement.”  Pansy whispered, and Daphne looked at her and raised her eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where those weird Dumbledore’s army meetings were or whatever?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy nodded… yes, Daphne was right, the meetings happened there…. Amongst many other things.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  As well as my first kiss with Hermione.”  Pansy said, a small smile playing on her face at the memory.  How nervous she’d been, how she really thought that it would’ve been better to never speak to Hermione again… and how incredibly wrong she’d been.  She was brought out of her musings by Daphne unceremoniously gagging in her ear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How… disgustingly sweet.”  She muttered, and Pansy gave her a quick look before looking to see Draco disappear into the room.  She reached back and grabbed both of them, pulling them quickly along.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hurry, we need to follow him before the door disappears.”  Pansy murmured, and Daphne made a sound of disbelief from behind her.  Was it really all that surprising at this point?  Hogwarts had plenty of secrets.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Disappears?  How have I been at this school for six bloody years and </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>heard of this place?  It seems like something they should </span>
  <em>
    <span>inform </span>
  </em>
  <span>students about.”  She whispered, and Pansy rolled her eyes and turned around, raising her eyebrow.  Did she </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>think that Hogwarts was going to be becoming about </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>secret rooms after the chamber incident?  No.  They’re probably too worried another one could become possessed, it happened so easily the first time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daph.  They neglected to inform us about a chamber under the school housing a </span>
  <em>
    <span>giant snake</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Suffice to say they don’t exactly care about actually telling us about what's going on.”  Pansy said with snort, and Daphne was silent for a moment before she let out a heavy sigh and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair point.”  Daphne admitted, and Pansy nodded, zeroing back in on her target.  He looked like he hadn’t slept in a week, and he probably hadn’t.  Merlin knows that Pansy wouldn’t if she was on the side of the dark lord.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two hang back a bit, I’m going to lead in.  Stay in the shadows.”  Pansy instructed, and Tracey nodded, yanking Daphne back against the dark wall as Pansy threw the robe over hear head, scooting a little closer for a moment before scrambling back when she saw that he was opening that cabinet.  Fuck.  That can’t be good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my Merlin… what’s he doing?”  Daphne muttered, and Pansy cleared her throat, trying not to sound too terrified by the aspect of what was happening right now.  Draco was far too powerful with that thing fixed, he could call too many people in.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s… fuck, he fixed the cabinet.”  Pansy muttered, and Daphne raised her eyebrow, looking confused.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does that mean?”  She asked, and Pansy sighed, looking down at the floor.  Honestly, she knew what it meant, but she wanted to pretend like maybe wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to do it.  Maybe he’d have a change of heart, weirder things </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>happened.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s probably trying to get people into the school.”  Pansy explained, and as if that was a signal, two men came through the cabinet and flanked Draco on either side.  Honestly, he looked a bit terrified at this point.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-Very good, young Malfoy.  Very good.”  The man said, clapping Draco on the shoulder as he led him to the door.  Draco looked lost, confused, as if this wasn’t something that was a part of his plan.  Oh wonderful, he can’t even get betraying us right, Pansy thought as she rolled her eyes.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What-.”  Draco started, but neither man even looked at him.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, boy.  You know the mission isn’t over yet.”  The second man said, his voice gruffer and meaner than the first.  Once they were fully out of the room Pansy straightened up and sighed, taking the robe off.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck.  This isn’t good.”  She admitted, and beelined towards the door, making sure her footfalls were light enough that they wouldn’t be heard by Draco.  She felt two hands clinging to either side of her shoulders.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy sighed, training her eyes forward for a moment before turning back to look at them.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“After them, obviously.  Keep your wands drawn, we might need to use them.”  Pansy muttered, and Daphne gave her a look and paused.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not killing anyone.”  Daphne insisted, and Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved the girls wand into her hand more firmly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I say you’d be killing anyone?  No.  But keep them drawn just in case.”  She said, and Daphne sighed, but gripped her wand, just as Tracey was doing with no protest.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She muttered, and they’d made it a bit of the way down the hallway before Pansy ran into someone and she froze for a moment before recognizing the earthy sort of cologne.  Harry Potter.  Of course.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you three doing?!”  Harry said, and Pansy rolled her eyes and tried to move around him, but he simply blocked her </span>
  <span>way again, looking<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Potter?  Get out of my way!”  Pansy hissed, trying to push past the boy who held her back with ease.  Sometimes she forgot that Harry really <em>was </em>a strong quidditch player, and that after he moved out of his aunt's house he’d actually gotten stronger.  Of course he could stop her, but that didn’t excuse the look in his eyes, like <em>she </em>was the enemy.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh why?  So you can go help <em>Malfoy</em> with whatever he’s got planned?”  Harry spat, and Pansy didn’t even remember drawing her hand back before she delivered a stinging slap to the Gryffindors face.  After everything she’s been through, he was going to assume <em>that </em>about her?  Oh, burn in hell.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Help him?  <em>Please </em>Harry.  I was trying to stop him!  You think I want whatever the fuck he’s doing to happen?  It’ll probably end up being something that harms <em>my </em>girlfriend, one of <em>your </em>best friends.  So how about you get your head out of your <em>ass </em>and remember the person that I’ve fought hard to become.”  Pansy hissed, and Harry snapped out of his stupor enough to nod and look at her, still rubbing the red spot on his cheek.  Okay, <em>maybe </em>she’d hit him a smidge too hard.  But in her defense, he was being a douche.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your right.  Of course you’re right, but… I can’t let you follow Draco… I have to do it.”  Harry insisted, and Pansy cleared her throat.  She knew, of course, that he was right.  But she also knew that the past relationship could lead to some difficult dynamics.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry-.”  Pansy started, and Harry cleared his throat and interrupted her, clearly not wanting to be talked out of it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cloak.”  Harry said, holding his hand out.  Pansy dug it out of her bag and set it in his hand, giving him a sincere look.  She realized at that moment that she really did consider Harry a friend that she’d… actually be pretty down if he died tonight.  It put an odd feeling in her stomach.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t die Potter, I was just starting to like you.”  Pansy muttered, trying to play it off like she wasn’t scared.  Harry gave her a small smile and a quick hug, despite her protests before resting a hand on her shoulder.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.  And don’t worry, Ron, Ginny and Neville already alerted the order that something is going down.”  Harry explained, and Daphne cleared her throat behind Pansy, and stepped forward.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The order?”  She asked, and Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arm.  When had he gotten so sarcastic?  It was very unlike him, Pansy thought.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not the time for questions, Greengrass.  They’re… just think of them as the good guys.”  Harry explained, and Daphne nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” She sighed, and as he started to walk away, Pansy realized she had no idea where she could find </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone, </span>
  </em>
  <span>let alone Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!”  Pansy called out, and Harry turned around, a little too dramatic in Pansy’s opinion.  He needed to cut it out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?!  I’m on a time constraint.” Harry spat, and Pansy glared up at him and crossed his arms.  That tone was not needed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is she.”  She said, and Harry raised an eyebrow, looking confused before it </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>clicked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Snape's office… last I knew anyways.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Then that's where we’ll go.  Get out of here, Potter.  Quickly.”  Pansy sighed, patting him lightly on the shoulder.  He reached up and squeezed her hand before throwing the cloak over his shoulder and disappearing.  Pansy watched where she was assuming he went for a long moment before she felt Daphne tap her shoulder, looking impatient as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that's it?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy shook her head.  Far from it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We cannot get to Draco in the way he can.  You know that.  Sure, he’s fighting to get back in my good graces… but he would simply die to get back in Harry’s, he's still so in love with him that it's crazy..  Meaning whatever he’s got planned is sure to hiccup if he sees Golden Boy watching him.”  Pansy said, giving Daphne a knowing look.  The blonde nodded, as if she were impressed and wrapped an arm around Tracey’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Smart.  Let's go find your girl.”  Daphne said, and Pansy led them down the hall, creeping carefully towards Snape’s office, and the second she saw Hermione she broke into a sort of jog.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione!”  She called, and managed to catch Hermione in a hug just as she was turning around.  She tucked her face into her neck and took a deep breath, feeling herself relax just a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, love… why are you three out of your dorms?”  Hermione asked, withdrawing from their hug in favor of pressing a few quick kisses to Pansy’s lips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were trailing Draco, trying to figure out what he was doing.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And?”  Hermione asked.  Pansy swallowed heavily and cleared her throat, feeling a little bit bad that she couldn’t stop this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He let people in.  They’re in the school.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione chuckled and shook her head, tucking some of Pansy’s  hair out of her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know… but where did he go?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged, gesturing vaguely off in the way of Harry and Draco.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hard to say, Potter took over.”  Pansy sighed, and Hermione nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Smart move.  Um… how willing are the three of you to fight?”  She asked quietly, and Pansy opened her mouth, but she was beaten to it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d kill for it.”  Tracey sighed, flicking some of her hair out of her face.  Pansy looked at her in surprise, but the other Slytherin merely shrugged.  Okay.  Noted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>kill anyone… unless you need to.”  Hermione insisted, giving them all a wary look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Pansy… just hope to Merlin that you don’t see a relative.”  Daphne murmured, nudging Pansy, who almost laughed before Hermione shoved Daphne lightly and glared at her.  Oh.  So other people would’ve thought that was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>insult</span>
  </em>
  <span>, okay.  Pansy just thought she was trying to help the mood.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re a dick, Daph.”  Tracey sighed, but Pansy saw the smirk on the other witches face.  Okay, so the only one who found it offensive was Hermione.  Good to know.  They turned to leave, but Pansy felt herself being held back by a hand on her robes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Darling!”  Hermione murmured, and Pansy turned to face her, eyebrow raised.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  She asked, and Hermione looked rather determined.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For luck.” Hermione whispered quickly before pulling Pansy close by her tie and kissing her soundly,  almost soundly enough that she forgot their situation.  But that was hard to do when Daphne was clearing her throat to remind them both of the danger.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I should battle more often.”  Pansy said, her voice coming out breathless with a grin.  Hermione rolled her eyes, but a smirk grew on her lips all the same as she shoved Pansy lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re a handful.  Go on then.”  She chuckled, and Pansy nodded, kissing across Hermione’s knuckles quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Find me after.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded, giving her one last warm smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.”  Hermione insisted, pressing one last kiss to Pansy’s cheek before walking away quickly.  Pansy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering why she was doing this.  It wasn’t just for her girlfriend, a part of her wanted to save her childhood friend from doing something that would haunt him </span>
  <em>
    <span>forever</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  And the best way for her to help that was to defend her school from whatever half-baked plan he’d enacted.  She turned to Daphne and Tracey and flashed them a fake smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You two ready?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne nodded, spinning her wand around her fingers.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Hell yeah, Parkinson.  Lets go fuck up some deatheaters.” She said, and Pansy nodded.  They continued down the hallway, hitting no one until halfway down the hallway, at which point someone came from the shadows, wand drawn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Expelliarmus.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Tracey muttered, and sent the guy’s wand flying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice.”  Pansy said, and she meant it.  It was a good spell, done well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”  Tracey beamed, and they were able to get through the next few hallways with ease until something happened that was unexpected.  Of course Pansy knew that her parents were Dark Lord sympathizers, but she didn’t know when they’d gone full dark and joined him.  It startled her, being caught by them, and accidentally led to the three of them being held up by her former parents.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s no use in fighting.  We’ve got you </span>
  <em>
    <span>cornered</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Besides, aren’t you meant to be on </span>
  <em>
    <span>our </span>
  </em>
  <span>side?  Look at that tie.  Green and Silver.”  He said, poking at Pansy’s tie with his wand.  Pansy slowly recovered from her shock and slapped her father’s hand away, looking for any sign of recognition in his eyes, but it was blank.  He genuinely had no idea who she was, which made this all the more easy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  My house.  At my school… which is my home.  My allegiance stands with my school… with my </span>
  <em>
    <span>family</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy spat, shaking a little bit as she realized that this was the first time she’d managed to get a full sentence out to her father without him reacting badly.  That this was the first time that her father had ever </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted her, even if it was for a sick and twisted reason.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come now, little girl.  When has this school ever cared about the people like us?”  He asked, his voice coming out faux understanding.  Pansy knew the one way to get his guard down enough that she, Daphne, and Tracey could actually get by.  She squared her shoulders and returned his smirk.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose they haven’t, you’re right.”  She said, her voice coming out smooth and haughty, just as she planned.  She felt a hand on her shoulder and was quick to shake it off, of course Tracey didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was interrupting a perfect plan, but that didn’t mean Pansy was going to let her screw it up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy…”  Tracey started, and Pansy held up a hand to silence her, her eyes narrowing on her clueless parents, her mind replaying every fucked up thing they ever did or said to her through the years.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But here's the thing.  You two never gave a </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn </span>
  </em>
  <span>about me either.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She shouted, and watched her mother crumple to the ground.  She saw the shock, the anger on her fathers face as he turned to her, raising his wand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You little-.”  He didn’t get to finish that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupefy!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy heard from beside her, and watched her father fall beside her mother, a feeling of relief flooding through her body as she nudged Tracey’s arm lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Davis.”  Pansy murmured, but Tracey glared at her and shoved her harder than expected, causing her to actually stumble a bit.  Okay, so she’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>scared them.  Noted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you, asshole!  I thought you were going to become one of </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey whispered, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head, embracing the other witch quickly before patting her cheek as she separated.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never.  Not for all the money in the world.”  She insisted, and of course Daphne had to ruin their bonding moment with </span>
  <em>
    <span>words</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.”  Daphne said, sounding relieved.  Pansy squeezed her hand, and the girls ran around the corner, only to come to a complete stop at the sound of a taunting laugh behind them, one that did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>belong to a student.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tsk tsk.  Isn’t it awful late for you girls to be out.”  Pansy’s skin prickled at the sound of that voice; it was the same voice that had been yelling after Sirius in the Malfoy Manor a couple of weeks ago.  Pansy turned around and felt her skin drain of all color as she came face to face with someone that had haunted her nightmares since childhood.  Bellatrix Lestrange.  Pansy lifted her wand shakily at the woman, trying to tuck both Daphne and Tracey behind her.  This was <em>her </em>idea, and if anyone was going to die from it, it was going to be her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave us alone!  I-I’m warning you!”  Pansy said, a little annoyed that her voice decided to betray her nerves, her hands began to shake.  Bellatrix found this to be funny, it seemed, because she let out a keening laugh and walked over, slowly tracing one long, terrifying finger down Pansy’s cheek, and another down Daphne’s.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, what pristine, pretty blood the two of you must have.  Pictures of pureblooded beauty.  Now, the halfbreed on the other hand… she’s ruining the whole picture.  <em>Crucio</em>.”  Bellatrix said, her voice monotone as she cast the spell at Tracey.  From there it was like the world was moving in slow motion.  Pansy’s eyes widened as he watched Daphne lunge in front of Tracey and take the spell straight to her abdomen, collapsing lifeless on the ground.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO!”  Tracey shouted, gathering Daphne in her arms and trying her best to scoot her out of harm's way.  Bellatrix snorted and spun her wand, slinking around the three of them like some sort of muggle jungle predator.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well aren’t the three of you just <em>pathetic</em>.  Risking your life for someone so <em>lowly</em>.  Although I suppose we <em>all </em>have our faults.  Little miss Parkinson.  A whore for that pathetic little mudblood.”<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Don’t </em>you <em>dare </em>call her that.”  Pansy snapped through clenched teeth, thinking about the pros and cons of actually using the killing curse on Bellatrix.  She looked highly amused, the arrogant smirk on her face growing ever wider as she lowered her face to be mere inches from Pansy’s.  Her breath was <em>putrid</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or what?  What would someone like <em>you</em> do to someone like <em>me</em>?”  She taunted and Pansy twirled her wand around for a moment before getting a good grip on it, coming to terms with the fact that this might be something she goes to Azkaban for.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll fucking kill you.”  Pansy snarled, gripping her wand tighter as she let her anger ebb and flow, for once not trying to shove it down.  She wasn’t about to let someone as <em>batshit </em>as Bellatrix fucking Lestrange talk about Hermione like that.  It wasn’t fair.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But am I wrong?  Last year you were such a good girl, a pretty little princess, in love with my dear, dear little nephew… perfection.  Until that <em>girl </em>mucked things up.  Honestly, it's disgusting to think how easily you spread your legs for someone of such <em>little </em>meaning.”  Bellatrix sneered, and Pansy lunged forward, surprised when she was wordlessly flicked into the wall behind her.  The most disturbing part… Bellatrix looked almost <em>bored… </em>like this wasn’t worth fighting her over.  Like <em>she </em>wasn’t worth it.  It reminded her so much of her parents earlier in the year that she felt her rage rise again as she struggled to her feet, breathing heavily.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Fuck </em>you!”  Pansy spat, and Bellaxtrix chuckled lowly and shook her head, twirling her wand around in her hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s a shame.  See, I would’ve had a bit more respect for me, dearie.  After all, I don’t hate all muggle things.  I’ve found that they way they torture is… <em>so </em>much more gratifying.  Wouldn’t you say?”  She asked, her smirk growing into a sinister grin.  Pansy felt her stomach lurch because what the hell was <em>that </em>supposed to mean?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What…”  Before she could finish her sentence, or even really process what was going on, Bellatrix had her trapped against her, a knife at her throat.  Well, this was going to end one of three ways, and two of them were her being dead.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!”  She heard Hermione call out behind her, and she was wheeled around to meet the eyes of her terrified girlfriend.  It was disgusting how much Bellatrix seemed to be loving the fear rolling off both of them.  Like she got off on it, sick bitch.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh uh, not a step closer little mudblood.  Or I’ll let all her pretty, pure blood stain this hallway.  It would be a terrible waste.  And it’ll be your fault.  How <em>tragic</em>.”  Bellatrix chuckled, pressing the cool steel of the blade closer to her throat.  Pansy swallowed heavily and looked over at Hermione, who looked emotionless, angry in a way that Pansy had never seen her before.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let her go.  We both know that it's me you want dead.  Kill <em>me </em>instead.”  Hermione insisted, tucking her wand away and opening her arms, as if she was willing to sacrifice herself.  Pansy’s eyes widened as she struggled against Bellatrix’s restraints, accidentally nicking the skin of her throat in the process.  She hissed at the sting, but opted to ignore it for the moment, there were more pressing matters at hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione… No…”  Pansy managed, before Bellatrix pulled her back, pressing the knife a bit harder.  Pansy swallowed heavily as she felt a thin trickle of blood make its way down her throat, and onto the collar of her shirt.  She saw Hermione clench her jaw and reach for her wand again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I <em>permitted </em>you to talk.”  Bellatrix spat, and Pansy winced away, wishing she could wipe the spittle from her cheek, it just made her feel all the more disgusting in this situation.  Hermione squared her shoulders and redrew her wand, any sense of apprehension no longer reading in her stance.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon Bellatrix… unless you're <em>scared </em>I might beat you.”  Hermione taunted, and while Pansy would <em>never </em>do it, she considered seeing if she could hex Hermione, just to shut her up.  For her own good.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, believe me, I’m not.  I would just rather <em>break </em>you.”  Bellatrix snapped, punctuating the word with a slash down across Pansy’s collarbone.  Her vision greyed out for a moment before the pain set in, making her knees buckle.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“AHHHH!  FUCK!”  She shouted, and she looked up to see Hermione rushing towards her, only to get blown back by the same wordless spell Bellatrix had heard earlier.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“PANSY!”  Hermione shouted, her eyes pleading.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That's right!  That's right.  Relax.  This will be over all the more quickly if you don’t <em>struggle</em>.”  Bellatrix muttered, and Pansy felt the blood start to soak into her shirt, quickly spreading down her chest.  The smell made her want to vomit, she’d always hated blood.  The smell, the taste, how it felt… it was disgusting.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let her go!”  Hermione ordered, and Bellatrix sighed and hauled Pansy higher, jostling the wound enough that she whimpered in pain.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax, <em>Merlin</em>, you’re such a drag.  I’m not going to <em>kill </em>her, that would be a lot more evidence against <em>me </em>if the coup fails.  Instead, I’ve decided that I’m going to make an example of her.  Show you what I do to people who take my nephews things.”  Bellatrix said through clenched teeth, and Pansy’s stomach lurched at the idea of her being Draco’s and the insinuation that she was a <em>thing</em>.  It disgusted her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well then shouldn’t it be me?!  <em>Please</em>!  Let her go!  Take me!”  Hermione pleaded, her expression getting desperate as she clenched her hands together in a silent motion that Pansy knew to mean prayer.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you see… I <em>could </em>do this to you.  But then the pain would only be skin deep, and that isn’t that bad, is it, Pansy dear?”  Bellatrix cooed, poking the end of her wand into Pansy’s cheek.  She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, willing it to just be over… or for Bellatrix to drop <em>dead</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck… you…”  Pansy gasped, focusing on a single spot in the wall so she could stay conscious, gripping at her collarbone in an attempt to keep from losing more blood.  She knew it was futile, but she figured she might as well try.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tsk.  And I was going to let you go in a moment.  But not anymore.”  Bellatrix taunted, letting the knife slice across her stomach.  Weirdly, the first thought in Pansy’s mind was that she was glad it was the last day of term.  No way did she want to buy a new uniform this late in the game.  And then the pain set in, and she gritted her teeth, feeling a tear trickle down her face.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span><em>FUCK</em>.  Please, just kill me.”  Pansy begged, the thought far from her mind that this was not the first time she’d begged someone for that, but this was the first time she’d truly meant it.  Death had to better then the pain she was being forced to feel right now.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re in no position to be making demands.  Anyways, if you’re forced to watch the woman you claim to <em>love</em>, as if lowlives like you are even <em>capable </em>of that, suffer so horribly… you’ll never be the same.  And neither will she.”  Bellatrix lilted, and Pansy cleared her throat, mustering some more strength as she looked at her girlfriend, who looked so brave and so determined… and was being <em>so </em>stupid.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione, just go.”  Pansy pleaded, but Hermione wouldn’t hear it.  She clenched her fists and took a step closer, much to Pansy’s dismay.  She did <em>not </em>want to lose her girlfriend.  She couldn’t.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not leaving you with this <em>psychopath</em>.”  Hermione spat, glaring at Bellatrix.  She heard the older witch <em>tsk </em>behind her ear and swallowed heavily.  This wasn’t going to end well at all, she thought.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then I suppose you brought this on yourself.”  Bellatrix sighed, and Pansy felt the knife dig into her stomach and her eyes widened.  Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she was going to throw up, pass out, or scream… so she decided to let her mouth decide.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO!  Please.  <em>PLEASE JUST KILL ME</em>!”  Pansy screamed, the pain of Bellatrix’s knife twisting across her skin, like she was attempting to make ribbons off the skin on her midriff.  Her vision went white from the pain, her knees buckling.  But Bellatrix held her up by her hair, pulling the knife back to its position at her throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tut, tut.  It’ll be over in a moment, I’m just giving you something to remember me by, dearie.” Bellatrix said, twisting the knife into her stomach again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, I’m begging you.  Stop.”  Pansy said, her voice coming out hoarse as she looked down to see her blood pooling on the ground.  It made her want to vomit, pass out, scream, do <em>something</em>, but instead she was just stuck listening to Bellatrix’s mirthy laugh, taunting her from so close, even if it was starting to sound far away.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I don’t think that I will… but you are starting to bore me… so perhaps I should just-.” Before Bellatrix could finish that sentence, Pansy heard footsteps stop in front of them, behind Hermione… probably.  She was having trouble seeing clearly.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Stupefy!</em>”  Pansy heard someone cry, and she fell from Bellatrix’s arms as the death eater crumbled behind her.  She realized that at the rate she was falling, if her head were to hit the ground, she would definitely get more injured and feel worse… but it wasn’t as if she could stop it.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!”  Hermione said, and caught her before she fell, slowly lowering her head onto her lap, cradling it against her as Pansy felt a hand push on the wound on her stomach, trying to stop the blood flow, but she could hardly focus on that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it cold in here?”  Pansy slurred, hardly even feeling the blood spilling from her abdomen anymore.  It all just felt both hot and cold, like the chills that occur when you get the flu.  Pansy realized she was probably dying.  Hermione let out a watery chuckle and pressed their foreheads together, leaving a gentle kiss on her lips, which she struggled to return.  Everything was just moving so <em>slowly</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No baby, it's not.  Fuck, she’s going into shock.  Tracey!  Give me your scarf.”  Hermione snapped, and Pansy felt like her ears were filled with water.  Or cotton.  Is this what death feels like?  Pansy didn’t know, but it was a bit odd to feel. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  Tracey protested, but she was quickly cut off.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give her the scarf, kid.  Your girlfriend is going to be fine, just let her rest, after all this is hardly the first unforgivable curse she’s survived..  Pansy will bleed out if you don’t help her right now.”  Pansy heard the voice order, and her brain slowly put together who it was.  She turned her head, and it felt like she was moving through water.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonks?”  She called, and the woman crouched down beside her, putting a hand over the wound on her collarbone, obviously trying in vain to keep a brave face.  Pansy knew she was probably dying, they didn’t have to act like she wasn’t.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  You need to stop getting hurt, Parkinson.  Don’t know how much more your girlfriend can take.”  Tonks joked, and Pansy didn’t know how to respond to that as the room slowly unfocused, no matter how hard she tried to keep it clear.  That couldn’t be good.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you blurry?”  Pansy slurred, and Tonk’s face seemed to pale as she stood back up, clearing her throat as she ran a hand through her hair.  Well, Pansy didn’t like the looks of that, it probably meant that her odds weren’t that great.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit, she’s lost a lot of blood.  Hermione, we need to…”  That was the last thing Pansy heard before she faded out, the feeling of the pain slowly leaving her, and her last thought was ‘is this what it feels like to die?’</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0060"><h2>60. Chapter 60</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>burning</span>
  </em>
  <span>, honestly.  It was so hot, but she couldn’t figure out why.  Normally, no matter the weather, her bed in the dungeon was pleasantly cool, but this felt like some sort of inferno.  And then the pain slowly set in, as if it was trying to remind her that she was alive, and she became aware of the room she was in being light, and smelling… different.  Nothing like her dorm.  Just like that, it came flooding back.  The fight, the torture, passing out in Hermione’s arms.  Her eyes shot open and she grimaced at the way her head was pounding… but at least she was alive, right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ow.”  Pansy winced, holding her head as she sat up.  She heard a gasp next to her and turned to see Daphne, who looked both exhausted and relieved as she leaned in to give Pansy a quick hug.  She groaned a bit from the pain, but let it happen.  Merlin knows how long she’d been out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Oh!  Thank Merlin, you’re awake.”  She said, and Pansy let herself fall into the embrace before glancing around the room, a little shocked at how barren it was.  No one but her and Daphne, which wasn’t what she was expecting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s… ‘Mione?”  Pansy croaked out, looking around the room.  Daphne smirked at her and squeezed her hand, jutting her chin towards the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s here.  Or, uh, she was.  Harry, Ron, and her had to do something, sounded rather important, but she’ll be back soon, I promise.”  Daphne said, and Pansy nodded and went to close her eyes again, but before she could she remembered what shape Daphne had been in the last time they saw each other, and she straightened up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  Pansy croaked, and Daphne cocked an eyebrow</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  She responded, and Pansy gave her a relieved smile and reached over to squeeze her hand quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re okay.”  Pansy said softly, and Daphne’s gaze softened as she nodded</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Far from the first unforgivable curse I’ve taken at this point, and I’d take a thousand more if it meant that Tracey never had to feel them.”  Daphne said, and Pansy looked over at her with a slight frown.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is she?”  She asked, and Daphne sighed and shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shaken, but mostly okay.” She said, and Pansy cleared her throat and steeled herself to the answer to the next question, completely prepared to hear that it had been like a month or something, and the whole world was different.  Stranger things </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>happened.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long was I out?” Pansy asked</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just shy of three days.  I don’t think Granger has slept or eaten since you’ve been out.” Daphne said, seeming disinterested in the story.  Pansy sighed and covered her face, wanting to be swallowed up by the ground</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that makes me feel like proper shit.  She needs to take care of herself.” Pansy sighed, her voice muffled.  Daphne let out a quiet chuckle and reached over, pulling Pansy’s hands down so they could make eye contact.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wanted to take care of </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I made her clean herself, don’t worry.  I did not want to be holed up in this room with her BO.  No thank you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Greengrass.  I’ve got you a clean sweater, and Luna’s getting-Oh!  You’re awake!”  Ginny said, flashing Pansy a large grin before wrapping an arm around her for a moment and sitting down in the chair beside Daphne, dumping the wool piece of clothing on her lap.  Pansy watched with some amusement as Daphne pulled it over her head and wrinkled her nose at the worn sweater, a large ‘G’ proudly sewn in the middle.  It could’ve been worse, Ginny could’ve grabbed one of the boys sweaters.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  How’re you, Gin?”  Pansy asked, realizing how quiet she’d been.  Ginny sighed and shrugged, tucking her hair out of her face as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘M alright.  Dumbledore’s funeral was… depressing to say the least, you’re lucky you missed it.”  She said, and Pansy let out a chuckle at the Gryffindor’s candidness before feeling her guilt set in about Hermione.  She’d been so busy worrying about Pansy… had she taken the proper time needed to grieve?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t make Hermione miss it, right?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny shook her head quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I dragged her with.  She didn’t want to, but it only seemed right.”  She explained, and Pansy let out a relieved sigh.  Honestly, she would’ve felt even worse if Hermione had had to miss a funeral of someone so important in her life, even if Pansy had her </span>
  <em>
    <span>own </span>
  </em>
  <span>issues with the way Dumbledore ran things.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad she went to honor him, he seemed important to her.”  Pansy said, and Daphne let out a chuckle and shook her head, kicking her feet up on the edge of Pansy’s bed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He was a right old piece of shit in my opinion.”  Daphne grumbled, and Pansy let out a jarring laugh, more shocked than anything.  But she supposed that maybe the other Slytherin had been missing out on sleep.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne!”  She protested, but Daphne only shrugged, like what she had said was perfectly reasonable and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>too soon after someone’s death.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please!  You’re telling me that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dumbledore</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  The strongest Wizard there is.  Couldn’t have killed Voldemort himself?  There was </span>
  <em>
    <span>no way </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he could’ve done that?  It </span>
  <em>
    <span>has </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be Harry?  Insane, and frankly, I just think he likes watching kids suffer.”  Daphne said, crossing her arms across her chest.  Pansy had to admit, she looked a lot less intimidating in a wool sweater with none of her makeup on.  It was like… the Weasley sweater charm, guaranteed to make </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>look 20 times less dangerous than they were.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think that about all educators.”  Pansy reminded her, and Daphne shrugged, like that made perfect sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I stand by my statement.”  She said, and Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes, giving Pansy a look that seemed to be questioning </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was friends with someone like Daphne.  Fair, Daphne did tend to hide her charms a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you’re a bitch.”  Ginny sighed, and Daphne gave her a triumphant look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She said, stretching her feet out across the redhead’s lap, who made a face and tried to shove them off.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Get your dirty shoes off my lap.  Now.”  Ginny said, giving Daphne a warning look, but it didn’t do much good.  Daphne merely shrugged and seemed to dig her foot in more, raising an eyebrow at the redhead.  Well, this isn’t going to end well, Pansy thought, it was a good thing they were already in a hospital.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.”  Daphne said, sounding far too happy with herself, and Ginny set her jaw, pulling out her wand as she did.  At least Pansy was getting some free entertainment, right?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will hex you-.”  Pansy let out a long sigh and gave them both a withering look.  She just wasn’t in the mood for this right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just woke up, can you two fight later?”  Pansy asked, a little too tired to play moderator between the two of them.  Both girls paused before Daphne withdrew her legs and Ginny tucked her wand away again, giving her an apologetic look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.”  Daphne said, and Ginny ran a hand through her hair before speaking herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.”  She mumbled, and Pansy shook her head.  They shouldn’t have to be sorry for just being themselves, that made Pansy feel worse.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's okay I just… I’m just exhausted.”  She admitted, and Daphne let out a snort and nodded, like that was obvious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you almost died, I’d be exhausted too.  Seriously, Hermione looked like she’d just stabbed someone to death when she got you in here.   Just </span>
  <em>
    <span>coated </span>
  </em>
  <span>in your blood, it was actually rather disgusting, I can’t lie to you about that.”  Daphne said, letting out a small chuckle before Ginny flicked her ear and shook her head, clearly underwhelmed with Daphne’s lack of bedside manner.  Pansy groaned and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head as she did.  That was probably the </span>
  <em>
    <span>worst </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing she could’ve done to her girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel bad.”  Pansy admitted</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t do it!  That crazy bitch did it.”  Daphne reminded her, and Pansy grimaced as she thought back to Bellatrix.  The crazed look in her eyes, the way she so easily held a knife to a child’s throat without a second thought.  That was what being brainwashed to believe someone like the dark lord was good did to you, you lost your humanity.  Pansy knew that firsthand from watching her parents, and of course it wasn’t her fault, but she still felt guilty.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but-.”  She started, but Ginny shook her head and leaned over Daphne to rest a hand on her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But nothing.  Hermione doesn’t blame you, and you should </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>blame yourself.” Ginny said softly, giving Pansy a squeeze on her good shoulder, as the other one was still a bit tender.  Pansy sighed and nodded, putting her hand over Ginny’s and giving it a reassuring pat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She said, and it was as if she’d summoned her girlfriend herself, because they heard a quiet knock at the door, and there stood Hermione, still looking away from them enough that she couldn’t tell Pansy was awake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys, I-Pansy!”  Hermione said, stopping in the doorway in shock for a moment before Pansy raised a hand to wave at her.  That seemed to set her back in motion and she walked over briskly, pulling Pansy into a tight hug, nearly knocking the wind out of the other witch, which she blamed on still recovering.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oof</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Oh.  Hi, love.  Hi.”  Pansy murmured against her hair, letting herself relax into the embrace for a moment, just enjoying the feel of her arms around Hermione’s back, tracing little circles before the Gryffindor pulled back and left a quick kiss on her lips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank Merlin you’re awake, I’ve been worried sick!  Never </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>do something like that to me ever again, okay love?”  Hermione asked, pressing their foreheads together as she did.  Pansy found that request a little funny, like she’d had a say in her torture.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  I’ll do my best to not get held at knifepoint by a psychopath again.”  Pansy joked, and Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, but much to Pansy’s delight she wasn’t able to keep a straight face for long before giving Pansy another warm smile, stroking her thumb across her jaw as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>such </span>
  </em>
  <span>a handful.”  She whispered, and Pansy noticed her smile faltered a bit, like she was about to start crying.  She furrowed her brows and lightly ran her hands up and down Hermione’s arms, as if trying to bring her back to the present, but the slightly upset look remained, gone was the warm smile from moments ago.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You missed me.”  Pansy said quietly, almost as if she were asking, and part of her was.  Maybe Hermione wasn’t glad she was awake, maybe that was the issue.  But that was quickly disproven by the look of confusion on Hermione’s face as she nodded.  Okay, so that's not it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”  Hermione whispered, and Pansy nodded, tracing little patterns on her arms, like she did when she wanted to calm Hermione down a bit.  Normally it would work, but it seemed as though this was too serious for that to work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I missed you.”  Pansy said, this one was not a question.  It was the truth, even if she couldn’t remember what happened while she was out, she knew that she missed Hermione.  That was sort of a constant when they weren’t together.  It did pull a genuine smile out of her for a quick second before it dropped again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d hope so.”  Hermione said, her tone sounding like it was trying to be joking, but it was too hollow for that.  She left a long kiss on Pansy’s lips, only to be broken apart but Daphne clearing her throat and shaking her head, a look of faux disgust on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still gross.”  Daphne reminded them, and Hermione rolled her eyes and gave Pansy a look that she knew meant ‘one moment’ before turning to the other two witches and straightening up a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why don’t you give us a minute.”  Hermione said, her tone coming out flat and even and Daphne raised an eyebrow, looking a little concerned before she ultimately gave in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gladly.  Cmon Weasley.”  Daphne said, grabbing Ginny by the sleeve of her jacket, but the redhead looked a little conflicted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She protested, but Pansy could tell Hermione must’ve given her </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>kind of look, because her voice faltered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go.”  Hermione insisted, and Ginny rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”  Ginny sighed, allowing herself to be pulled out of the room by Daphne.  Once they were gone, Hermione let out a heavy sigh and rested her head back down on her chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… whats up?”  Pansy asked, looking down at where Hermione had tucked her head into the curve of her neck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t easy to say… um…”  Hermione tried, her voice light and quiet in Pansy’s ear, somehow causing her to relax even more.  It was just so nice to have her here, to know that everything had turned out alright, honestly whatever Hermione had to say wasn’t going to be able to ruin her mood.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it's okay.  Take your time.”  Pansy encouraged, rubbing Hermione’s back lightly as she did.  They stayed like that for a long moment before the Gryffindor pulled away and started pacing back and forth, like it was impossible to say whatever she needed to say while sitting down.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to break up.”  Hermione said, so quietly that it was almost a whisper.  And in that moment, it felt like the world had stopped turning, because that was Pansy’s worst nightmare.  She’d survived a murder attempt, a mind wiping attempt, she’d had to hex her own </span>
  <em>
    <span>parents</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and this was still far scarier to her, losing the woman she felt made her better.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, come again?”  Pansy asked, convinced she heard the Gryffindor wrong.  But from her wobbling lip and tear stained face, Pansy could tell she hadn’t, and it made her stomach drop.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not because I want to, believe me, it's the </span>
  <em>
    <span>last </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing I want.”  Hermione said, wiping at her face as best she could.  Pansy furrowed her brows, confused by the whole situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then… why do it?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione fiddled with her fingers for a moment, like she didn’t know what she was going to say.  But Pansy knew that she knew, Hermione had everything she wanted to say planned out, it was just the issue of getting it out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because… I have to go away for a while.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out a little tense, a little nervous.  And just from that, Pansy guessed what it probably was.  Stupid Gryffindors and their stupid bravery and </span>
  <span>constant need to be a hero.  Was it too much to ask that her girlfriend -or ex, she supposed- would stay home and maybe stay alive?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me guess… you and your friends want to kill the dark lord.”  Pansy said, her voice coming out flat and monotone.  Hermione was quiet for a moment before she nodded, resting her head in her hands as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not as much of a want as a need.  Pansy, if he gets control of the wizarding world I’ll… they’ll kill me.”  She whispered, sounding more terrified than Pansy had ever heard her, with good reason.  Before the attack on Hogwarts, the war had seemed like it might still be a little off, but now… it was like they were already in it.  But something in her brain still couldn’t come to terms with it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  But I’m still confused as to why </span>
  <em>
    <span>we </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to end?”  Pansy asked, knowing how pathetic she sounded.  Hermione breathed in a shuddery breath and chewed on her lip for a moment before glancing around, like she was scared someone was listening in on them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re in danger with us having a connection.”  Hermione said quietly, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Who was Hermione to decide that without even consulting her?  She’d fight 1000 deatheaters if it meant that she got to stay with the woman she loved.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How so?”  Pansy asked, totally willing to get in a full-blown fight about this.  She didn’t want to lose one of the most important people in her life, not like this.  Not when this </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>be their last conversation.  Hermione sighed and settled on the edge of her bed as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… He obviously wants to shake Harry, and it would be logical to make the assumption that he’s willing to do anything to do that.  If we’re still together he could kill you.”  She explained, but Pansy didn’t care about that.  Plenty of Dark Wizards at this point had tried to kill her, and none had been successful.  She wasn’t scared of some bald asshole with an overinflated ego.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-.”  She protested, but before she could finish, Hermione interrupted her with a quick shake of her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, but this is how it's got to be.  And you don’t have to wait around for me, I don’t expect-.”  Pansy rolled her eyes and pulled Hermione down for a quick kiss before letting her go she could look at her.  Merlin, the bags under her eyes had gotten so bad, Daphne wasn’t lying when she said the other witch hadn’t slept.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re such an idiot sometimes, Granger.”  Pansy said, letting out a watery laugh as she let her hand stroke down Hermione’s cheek, closing her eyes when she felt Hermione cup it and press her face against it.  It just made the situation that much more confusing, even if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>make sense.  It just hurt that they still loved each other and couldn’t be together.  It felt wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy-.”  Hermione tried again, and Pansy shook her head and pressed a quick kiss to her jaw before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need anyone else.  I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>crazy </span>
  </em>
  <span>about the fact that we’re breaking up, but I understand why… just… come back to me, alright?”  Pansy whispered, a little afraid of what Hermione’s response was going to be.  She really hoped this wasn’t some sort of crazed suicide mission or something.  Hermione squeezed her arm lightly and opened her eyes, and Pansy noticed that they were a bit glassy, meaning she was probably moments from crying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll do my best.”  Hermione said, and Pansy didn’t doubt that for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.”  She said, and Hermione nodded, letting out another broken sigh as she did, like she was trying to regulate her breathing just a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.  I have to go now, okay?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded, pressing one last kiss to Hermione’s lips, a little relieved when Hermione pulled her in and deepened the kiss a bit.  It wasn’t passionate though, it was sad, and Pansy could taste the salt of Hermione’s tears on her lips and it broke her heart all the more.  She took a deep breath as they separated, lightly patting Hermione’s cheek as she did, not daring to open her eyes right now, she couldn’t handle it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go on, they’ll die without you.”  She whispered, and felt one more kiss be pressed to her forehead before Hermione straightened up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”  Hermione responded, and Pansy heard her make her way to the door, and she opened her eyes, determined to say one last thing before she left, because what kind of a melodramatic exit was Pansy giving her with the whole ‘they’ll die without you’ thing?  She could do better than that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Hermione?”  Pansy called, and the Gryffindor turned around again, pausing in the doorway as she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  She asked, and Pansy offered her one last smile before she spoke, trying to sound as if she wasn’t heartbroken and terrified.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay alive for me, love.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll do my best.”  She said, and then she was gone.  Although it had sounded cryptic, Pansy supposed that was all she could really promise, which terrified her all the more.  Honestly, she had no idea how  she was going to survive Seventh year if Hermione wasn’t there.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s she going?”  Daphne asked, as the other two came back in the room.  When Pansy looked over she could see the concern in her friend’s face, and somehow that made it worse.  It made it feel even more real, and she was the one who was going to have to break the news.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Away.”  Pansy tried, but that wasn’t good enough, and she saw the two witches exchange a confused look before Pansy glanced away from them, not wanting to make this into a thing.  Honestly, she just wanted to deal with it internally and then shove it down, just like she’d always been taught.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy…”  Daphne tried again, and Pansy didn’t look over.  She couldn’t, not knowing that Daphne had that look of worry, it always felt like pity.  She didn’t want to be pitied right now, she physically couldn’t handle that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  Pansy muttered, her eyes trained forward, focusing on nothing but the thought of how she didn’t want to cry again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What just happened?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy shrugged, not wanting to think about it more.  She looked at the ceiling so she could contain the tears that were threatening to spill over again.  Can’t show too much weakness.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m single now.”  Pansy sighed, and both the witches gawked at her, like they were unsure what to say.  Fair, nobody expected this to happen, especially not Pansy.  Daphne was the first to recover, and she started fumbling for her wand, face reddening slightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna fucking kill her-.”  Daphne started, and Pansy was quick to shake her head, motioning for Ginny to pull her back down so she could explain.  She understood the knee jerk reaction, after all that was how she’d been the whole time Daphne was with Blaise, but still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  Daphne, no.  It's not bad… she has to go hunt down the Dark Lord with Ginny’s brother and Harry, and I can see why-.”  She wasn’t able to finish her sentence before Daphne was nodding and chuckling.  Rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  That makes sense.  They’d die without her.  They’ve got a single brain cell that they seem to share between the two of them.” Daphne said, her voice sounding bored as she did, earning her a smack upside the head from Ginny.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  That’s my brother you’re talking about!”  Ginny snapped, and Daphne raised an eyebrow, as if she was challenging Ginny.  Rather a bad idea in Pansy’s eyes, but alright, do what you must.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But am I wrong, Weasley?”  Daphne asked, and Ginny paused for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and shaking her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No, but it was still rude.”  She grumbled, and Pansy cleared her throat, still not done with her part of the story. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t want me to be in danger.  I know its stupid… but I was excited for the summer holidays… I thought we’d be together more often, maybe I could actually meet her parents… now I’m laying in a hospital bed and I just remembered that I’m homeless.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come live with us.  ‘Storia and my mum have been asking about you, said I don’t bring you around enough anymore.”  Daphne offered, but before Pansy could agree or disagree, Ginny spoke up, looking dubious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No offense, Greengrass… but your family is high society pureblood, right?”  Ginny asked, sounding as if she was choosing her words very carefully so as to not upset Daphne, who raised an eyebrow, merely confused.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”  Daphne asked, and Ginny sucked in a breath and took both of Daphne’s hands in her own, making the mood far more serious.  Honestly, Pansy was 90% certain that this was the first time they’d shown affection towards each other that </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>include threats of violence or actual violence, if she had the energy she was sure she’d be impressed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you aren’t, and neither are any of your family members… but if they catch wind that Pansy is with you, nothing is stopping them from trying to kill her again.”  Ginny explained, and Daphne looked like she wanted to protest for a moment before she gave in, looking annoyed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right… unfortunately.”  Daphne grumbled, crossing her arms as she looked at the wall.  Merlin, it was like she was twelve again, so moody.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it's settled.  Pans, you’re coming home with me to the Burrow.  Mum already wanted me to ask, she doesn’t want you trying to recover in some cramped flat somewhere.  She’s already worried that you don’t eat enough.”  Ginny explained, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  There was no need to worry, she ate when she was hungry.  She just wasn’t hungry very often, as it happened, and that was okay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I eat plenty.”  Pansy protested, and Ginny gave her a smirk and patted her hand before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Firewhiskey and weed aren’t food.”  Ginny reminded her, and Pansy’s jaw dropped as she scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest as she did.  That was entirely uncalled for, honestly!  And not entirely true either!</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  Shut up.”  Pansy said, and Ginny shrugged, looking all too pleased with herself as she hiked a foot up onto her chair, pulling her knee to her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not wrong.” Ginny pointed out, and Pansy looked at Daphne for backup, but couldn’t catch her eye.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re not.”  Daphne said and Pansy glared at her.  Daphne was meant to be on her side.  How rude </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne!”  Pansy snapped, and the other Slytherin shrugged </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just agreeing with the one who’s telling the truth!”  Daphne protested, and Pansy felt herself grow more annoyed.  If her wand was anywhere near her, she’d hex the </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit </span>
  </em>
  <span>out of Daphne right now, but from the look of it it was tucked in Ginny’s coat.  Wonderful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin.  Get out, both of you, I’m gonna take a nap.”  Pansy groaned, turning over in her hospital bed, despite her protesting joints.  Daphne sighed and grabbed her shoulder, lightly turning her back.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be quiet but we aren’t leaving.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Did her friends always have to be so difficult?  She just wanted some time to herself, never mind that she hadn’t been awake for the last three days.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne and Ginny exchanged a look.  Odd.  They never did that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, you shouldn’t be alone.”  Daphne started, and Ginny cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two, our girlfriends are out getting us some food.”  Ginny said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What an odd pair, honestly.  The thought of Tracey and Luna making their way through the city brought a small smile to her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since when do Luna and Tracey hang out?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny shrugged, her and Daphne exchanging some kind of secret smile, like they knew something Pansy didn’t.  She hated when people did that.  And now they’d done it twice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Normally they don’t, but Tracey volunteered to go with her, something about wanting to learn more about wrackspurts.  She’s kinda started to find what Luna says fascinating, it's adorable.”  Ginny explained, and Pansy thought for a moment.  Out of her friend group, Tracey was for sure the most level headed and understanding, and the most patient… and if Pansy had been able to get over her aversion towards Luna’s oddities it was no wonder that Tracey had too.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can see them being friends, in an odd way it’d be perfect.”  She said, and Daphne nodded, her smile growing bigger as she elbowed Ginny.  Oh.  That friendship could burn down buildings, Pansy shuttered to think about their double dates.  Probably just arson and picking flowers, in theory very fun, but in practice rather illegal.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy chuckled, shaking her head.  Part of her was very happy that she’d managed to form this dangerous friendship, and the wholesome one that was out being the productive side of the relationships, and the other part felt like she should go to Azkaban for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She mumbled, her eyes beginning to sag as she laid flat on her mattress.  She heard rustling and smelt Ginny’s perfume as her blanket got pulled higher on her chest, the room growing dark.  Okay, someone had been working on wandless magic, impressive.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get some rest, Pans.  We’ll wake you when they’re back, yeah?”  Ginny asked softly, and Pansy hardly had the energy to nod.  Apparently a break up and almost dying had just completely worn her out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.  Thanks.”  She mumbled, and let herself slide into a comfortable sleep.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>The burrow was always so warm and welcoming, especially so now that the summer season had started.  Even though she insisted she could walk by herself, Ginny was supporting one of her sides, something about not wanting her to get too fatigued.  It was sweet, but altogether unnecessary, and she shook her off the second they reached the house, giving her what she was hoping was a grateful smile, but might have come across as an annoyed grimace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And here we are!  Home sweet home.”  Molly said, and Pansy’s jaw dropped when she saw the table laid out, with the entire Weasley clan that she’d met, minus Ron, standing around it in varying states of welcome.  None of them looked upset to see her, they just looked a bit bored, which was fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Molly, you really didn’t have to do all of this.” Pansy insisted, rubbing the back of her neck as she set down her trunk and looked around, immediately relaxing into the warm and comforting atmosphere.  But Molly wouldn’t hear it, she shook her head and patted Pansy’s arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense.  I’d do this for any of my kids getting out of the hospital.”  Molly said matter of factly, as if she hadn’t just implied that she considered Pansy to be like one of her children.  It made her breath catch in her chest, because she’d never had someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>willingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>wish to call her family, it was all still so new.  But she was shaken back into reality by one of the brothers, she was 90% sure that it was Bill, laughing and nodding, his arm tight around Fleur.  Okay, for sure Bill.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s true.  She did it for me too, Pansy.  You can’t fight a mother’s love.”  He said, lifting his cup to his mouth after he was done speaking.  Pansy hadn’t even noticed the bandaging on his face, he must’ve been hit badly by something too, but Pansy couldn’t place what it was.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I’m not-.”  Molly held up a hand and shook her head, as if what Pansy was saying was utterly ridiculous.  It wasn’t, it was a fair point to bring up, Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>their family, and she never would be.  It just felt like she was taking up resources.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not by blood, no.  But you’re under my roof, eating my food and staying in my home.  That makes you family.”  Molly said, and the tone of her voice was commanding, making it impossible for anyone to want to argue with her, they’d obviously lose if they tried.  So Pansy sighed and nodded, accepting her defeat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Fine.”  She murmured, and Molly’s face went back to being calm and welcoming as she gestured towards the table.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Sit down, eat something.”  The older witch said, looking rather insistent, but the thought of food right now made Pansy’s stomach lurch.  Not because it didn’t look good, just because she’d rather try and sleep off the feeling that she was going to cry at any moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m really not-.”  Pansy tried, but Molly gave her a look before walking over to her and observing her more closely, like she was looking for any hair out of place.  Unlikely she’d find one, Pansy was terrific at covering her flaws.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn’t a question, dear.  You look like you’re wasting away.”  Molly said softly, patting one of her cheeks as she did.  Pansy felt bad, she really didn’t mean to worry anyone, least of all her friend’s mother.  But maybe that’s what happened when an adult actually cared, they worried about eating and other things like that.  It would make some sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  Fine.”  Pansy mumbled, settling down between Ginny and </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the twins, Merlin knows she hadn’t interacted with them enough to actually be able to tell the difference.  She thought it wouldn’t matter, maybe they wouldn’t talk to her, but she was wrong.  About five minutes into the meal, she felt someone tap her lightly on the shoulder and turned to see the twin smiling down at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did Bellatrix leave any scars?”  He asked, giving her a look that she could only read as pure fascination, and as much as it made her stomach lurch a bit to actually show them, she nodded.  No point in lying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just this one.”  Pansy said, pulling the collar of her shirt aside to show the deep, jagged scar that had set in across her collarbone.  The redhead moved in and gasped, running a finger across it before giving her a reassuring smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wicked.  Kinda makes you look like a badass, Parkinson.”  He said, and Pansy let out an uneasy chuckle as she nodded and moved her shirt back into place.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, uh… okay.  Not to be rude but… which one are you?”  Pansy asked, and the man smiled widely and extended his hand for her to shake.  A bit of an odd formality for someone who had traced her scar without asking, but alright.  She took his hand and shook it firmly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“George.”  He said, and Pansy nodded.  Okay.  He was George, that meant the one on the other side of Ginny was Fred.  She could do this, it wasn’t the first set of identical twins she’d ran into.  Hell, she’d grown up around the Patil’s, and next to them, this was a cake walk.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Got it.”  Pansy muttered, and there was quiet for a moment as they got settled before George piped up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard about you and ‘Mione-.”  George started, and next to her, Ginny let out a choked sound before a piece of bread sailed over the other redhead’s head, hitting Bill right in the forehead.  Pansy winced, and glanced around, expecting to get yelled at, but this didn’t seem to phase anyone.  Interesting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“George!  She doesn’t wanna talk about it!”  Ginny snapped, placing her hand on top of Pansy’s and catching her eye with an apologetic look.  But Pansy knew she couldn’t just ignore it until Hermione got back, it was healthier to deal with it, so she gave Ginny a smile and flipped her hand over to give the other witches a quick squeeze, signaling that it was okay, she would be alright.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it's alright.  It sucks, but as long as she’s safe… I don’t mind.”  Pansy said, trying to keep the pain out of her voice, but it apparently didn’t work because she watched as George’s expression softened, and he put hand on her shoulder, leaning a little closer so he could speak quieter.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if you need it… Fred and I have plenty of… </span>
  <em>
    <span>that stuff</span>
  </em>
  <span> in our room.  Just gotta ask.”  He muttered, and Pansy couldn’t help but grin.  She was fairly certain that Daphne was hanging onto her stash, because it wasn’t in her trunk, so that was for sure welcome.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Brilliant.  Maybe this won’t be too bad.”  Pansy muttered, and George elbowed her, giving her a look that clearly meant she was speaking about it a bit too loud.  Fair, being quiet about it made sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve just got to find somewhere to put you.”  Molly said, and Pansy felt a pang of guilt in her chest as she grimaced.  She didn’t mean to impose, but of course it made sense that there had to be reorganization.  A house full of at least eight people at any given time, and Pansy had added one more body to that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can sleep on the couch-.”  Pansy offered, but Molly shook her head and looked at her like the mere idea of  that was ludicrous.  Honestly, in Pansy’s eyes it made sense.  She was a guest, no reason for them to be rearranging their lives around her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No!  That’s ridiculous, I mean… it was fine for the few days you were here last time, but you’re going to be here for at least a couple of weeks, we need something more permanent.”  Molly explained, cutting into her food as she did.  Ginny cleared her throat and raised a hand a bit before she spoke, as if trying to alert to her voice.  Pansy didn’t see the point, Ginny had a loud and commanding voice anyways.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She can just stay in my room.”  Ginny said, and Molly made a strange face, like that wasn’t something she was quite okay with.  Pansy wasn’t sure if it was because they’d be cramped together and Molly was afraid of a sudden resurgence of house rivalry, or because they both liked women.  Either one made her train her eyes on her plate, extremely embarrassed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There's no-.”  Molly started, but Ginny let out a snort and took a bite of her roll before speaking again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re both used to sharing beds with other women, don’t see the issue-.”  Ginny said, and Pansy felt her face burn as her fork clattered to her plate.  She saw the look of shock and a bit of anger on Molly’s face as she sputtered out her words.  Fair, totally fair, no one had been expecting that to come out of Ginny’s mouth, least of all Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ginevera Weasley!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Molly said, her voice sounding as mortified as Pansy felt.  Honestly, it was in this moment that she sort of regretted befriending the redhead, even if it had made her life a million times more interesting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was at least a little funny, come on.”  Ginny tried, and her mother scowled and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Not funny at all!  But… I do suppose that would work.”  Molly admitted, and Ginny gave her mother a smile and rubbed Pansy’s arm. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome.”  She said, and Pansy gave her a small smile.  She was aware of why Ginny was pushing for them to be in the same room, it was pretty clear she was preparing to catch Pansy’s melt down before it got too bad.  Which was the exact same reason why Pansy really wished she could talk the redhead out of it, but it was no secret that Ginny’s stubbornness would win out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Pansy… do you play quidditch.”  George said, breaking through the silence, and Pansy was quick to shake her head, relieved that there was a distraction.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin no, I’m a shit flyer.”  Pansy admitted with a chuckle, and Ginny shifted to look at her more, like an idea was brewing in her mind.  Well, this should be interesting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should let us teach you!”  Ginny said, her face lighting up, and Pansy shook her head.  The idea of getting humiliated by three quidditch players, possibly more, she really wasn’t sure who played and who didn’t, was not appealing to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t want to impose-.”  Pansy tried, but George clapped a heavy hand between her shoulder blades and shook his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re not just going to let you mope around the whole time that you’re here.  So tomorrow morning, we’re teaching you how to fly better.  And then maybe we can teach you how to play… if you think you can keep up.”  George said, giving her a wink, and Pansy’s grimace turned into a glare as she felt her competitive side flare a bit in her stomach.  As if she was going to let someone imply that she wasn’t able to do better than they could.  Of course she could!  It would just take some work and </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe </span>
  </em>
  <span>a bit of cheating, but it’d be worth it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a fucking challenge, Weasley?”  Pansy asked, her voice low and angry.  She was brought back to reality by Molly clearing her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy!  Language.”  She snapped, and Pansy instantly felt her face heat up a bit.  Right.  Family dinner.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Molly.”  Pansy mumbled, and Ginny leaned close to her ear and cleared her throat, which made Pansy give her a look.  Do that </span>
  <em>
    <span>further </span>
  </em>
  <span>from someone’s face, its only polite.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To finish my brother’s sentence… Yes it's a challenge.”  She muttered, and Pansy gave her a small smile and elbowed her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“In that case… you’re on.”  She murmured, glancing between the two.  Honestly, it was shocking how similar they looked, Pansy had never really picked up on that.  But, she supposed it made sense, they had the same parents.  George gave her a mischievous smirk before turning forward again.  Well, this should be interesting.  It’ll be good for some stories if nothing else, Pansy thought.  And probably some broken bones.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0061"><h2>61. Chapter 61</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW:  MENTIONS OF CHILDHOOD VERBAL ABUSE AND BODY IMAGE ISSUES AND HINTS AT AN ED.  DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER IF ANY OF THAT AFFECTS YOU NEGATIVELY.  Have a lovely day.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Something about doing chores was actually rather relaxing to Pansy, probably because she’d never had to do them before, and found them to be interesting, plus Molly was grateful for the help, and it gave Pansy the chance to talk with her, trying her best to thank her whenever she could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy dear, what was the name of that blonde girl who was sitting at your bedside?  The sort of grumpy looking one who never seemed to have anything nice to say?”  Molly asked, and Pansy stifled a laugh because yeah, that did sum up Daphne fairly well, even if that look was a total facade.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne.  Daphne Greengrass.”  She said, and Molly nodded, smiling warmly when she recognized the name.  Makes sense, one of the other non blood purist pureblood families.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  I know of her family, alright.  Are you two friends?”  She asked, and Pansy nodded, a little confused because she didn’t know the last time someone who wasn’t a friend would be sitting at someone’s bedside waiting for them to wake up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Best friends.  Have been for years at this point. Why do you ask?”  Pansy asked, shifting away from the sink as she spoke, shaking her hands out.  Molly cleared her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… I’m going to be making a big dinner next week, and I was wondering if you’d want to invite them.  Of course you don’t have to, I wouldn’t want to butt into your friendships, but I do think it would be helpful-.”  Pansy smiled down at Molly and nodded.  It would be good to get Daphne and Tracey out of the house too, knowing they were both holed up in their rooms, together or not.  Mostly because Daphne’s parents had cancelled their summer trip to the Swiss Alps due to possible danger, so she was stuck here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll send her an owl… can she bring her girlfriend, because that might be a deciding factor.”  Pansy said, and Molly nodded, as if that should’ve been obvious.  Pansy didn’t want to just be inviting people to the burrow without her permission.  It wasn’t like it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>her home.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh of course!  And I’ll have Ginny invite Luna, it’ll be nice to have a full table again.”  Molly said, practically beaming up at Pansy, as if she hadn’t accidentally said something extremely heavy.  The empty seat at her table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you worried that they aren’t going to come back?”  Pansy asked, and Molly sighed and looked up at her knowingly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Every day, dear.  But.  I know Ron’s still alive, and that’s probably good news for all of them.”  She informed her, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  How was it possible to know that when none of them had heard from the trio?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?”  Pansy asked, and Molly jerked her head to the side, over to the odd looking clock on the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, his hand on the clock is pointed towards traveling, not prison or mortal peril, so I’m not all  that worried.  Seems they’re making it along fine.”  Molly assured her, and Pansy sighed and nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope so.”  She mumbled, and Molly paused, resting a hand on Pansy’s forearm for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You miss her terribly, don’t you?”  Molly asked softly, and Pansy paused.  She hadn’t talked much about Hermione since she’d arrived, always careful to refer to all three of them, but it wasn’t as if she could avoid a direct question, so she sighed and nodded, keeping her eyes trained down on the counter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It might sound ridiculous but… it honestly feels like a small part of me is missing.  She just… she made me so happy for the first time in </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>long, and now it feels like I may never be that happy again.”   She mumbled, and after a pause she felt Molly’s hand rubbing gentle circles on her back.  It was such a sweet, motherly gesture that it made Pansy’s heart pang, and made her think for the billionth time this week about how her own mother would never do that for her.  It was easy to let all the shit pile up when the lightest part of her life was gone.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if I know Hermione, and I do, she’ll come back alive and well.  And she’ll make sure the boys do too.”  Molly said, and Pansy nodded.  Obviously the logical side of her brain knew that, but sometimes the emotional part liked to yell over it, making her feel more afraid and more insecure.  Merlin knows it has been doing that a lot recently.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”  Pansy said, busying herself once again with the chores, and after a couple of minutes she heard Molly let out a small, amused chuckle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you’ve changed quite a bit since Christmas, Pansy.”  She said, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  She was grateful for the compliment, but it seemed to be out of nowhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How so?”  She asked, and Molly shrugged, not bothering to look back up as she answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re calmer.  Less like you’re walking on eggshells around my family, I like it.”  The older witch said, and Pansy practically glowed from that compliment, because it meant that much more coming from Molly, someone she'd taken to considering a motherly figure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well-.”  Pansy started, but before she could finish, Ginny swung her head inside the kitchen and waved at her mother before setting her sights on Pansy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson!  Outside!”  She said before walking past the two witches towards the shed.  Pansy sighed and shook her hands out, giving Molly an apologetic look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Molly, but I think we both know they’ll just keep coming.”  She said, and Molly smiled and nodded, patting the back of her hand as she did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright, dear.  Thank you for the help.  And for the conversation, it’s nice to have someone who wants to help out around.”  Molly said with a small chuckle, and Pansy nodded.  She'd never had responsibilities at her manor, it was nice to have something she <em>had </em>to do every day, it made her feel less like she was just existing, and it took her mind off Hermione for a bit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I find it interesting, it’s not something I’ve ever done before.”  Pansy explained, and Molly nodded and smiled up at her before steering her towards the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right well… we don’t want to keep them waiting.  Have fun.”  Molly said, closing the door behind her.  Pansy trudged over to where the three redheads were standing, becoming increasingly more wary the closer she got.  This could not end well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you idiots want?”  Pansy asked, and she did <em>not </em>like the look of the smiles on the twin's faces.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We promised to teach you how to fly, remember?”  George asked, and Pansy paled a bit.  Right.  She'd forgotten about that.  Fuck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I didn’t realize you guys were </span>
  <em>
    <span>serious </span>
  </em>
  <span>about that. I thought we’d all forgotten about it.”  Pansy sighed, and Fred shook his head.  Oh Merlin this is not going to end well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell no.  Come here."  Fred said, holding out his hand, and Pansy backed slowly up towards the house, speeding up as he closed in on her.  This felt like something that could land her right back in Mungo's, challenge be damned.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.”  Pansy said firmly, and Fred rolled his eyes, looking behind Pansy.  Shit.  Ginny.  Before Pansy could move away, Fred began to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gin.  Now.” Fred barked, and before Pansy could say anything else, Ginny scooped her up with an ease that shocked her.  She supposed it shouldn’t, Ginny was a dedicated quidditch player who seemed to practice constantly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Pansy shouted, doing her best to kick the redhead who was showing a shocking amount of strength.  But Ginny merely chuckled and easily dodged any attempts at striking her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to teach you how to fly.”  She said, as if it should’ve been obvious, and maybe it was but Pansy was a bit too occupied with the fact that her feet were </span>
  <em>
    <span>nowhere </span>
  </em>
  <span>near the ground through no fault of her own.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>did you pick me up?”  Pansy asked, finally just deciding to go limp across Ginny’s shoulder.  She felt the redhead shrug.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, you weigh next to nothing.”  Ginny sighed, and Pansy went limp at that point, coming to terms that there was no getting out of this.  A minute or so later she felt herself getting lowered down to the ground, and she straightened up and brushed off her shirt, glaring over at Ginny.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh. Okay, so now that I’ve been </span>
  <em>
    <span>forced </span>
  </em>
  <span>into the middle of nowhere… show me what you’ve got.”  Pansy sighed, and the three siblings exchanged looks.  Honestly, it was a little irritating to be out of the loop when she'd been <em>dragged </em>out here, but it wasn't as if Pansy was going to say anything.  Because what was she supposed to say right now?  She didn't know.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember your first year flying class?”  George asked, and Pansy shook her head.  She could barely remember what she’d done last year let alone six years ago, she felt that was an unfair question.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, just that I said something sort of rude about Neville Longbottom.”  She sighed, and Ginny raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a look.  Oh.  Right.  She and Neville are friends, Pansy had almost forgotten that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you say?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked down at the ground, a little afraid of what she’d see if she looked Ginny in the eyes right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I called him a fat crybaby… I think.”  Pansy mumbled.  All she remembered was that she was actually teasing </span>
  <em>
    <span>Parvati</span>
  </em>
  <span>, just at Neville’s expense.  Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes, shoving her shoulder lightly.  Fair, she’d just admitted to bullying one of her close friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re such a wanker.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I know.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but do you at least know the basics?  You know, summoning, mounting, take off, landing.”  Fred asked, his voice coming out bored, and Pansy resisted the urge to smack him across the face because </span>
  <em>
    <span>how dare he </span>
  </em>
  <span>assume that she didn’t know the basics?  She’d grown up in a well respected family!  It would have been disgraceful if she couldn’t do such an average thing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.  I’m bad at it, I’m not stupid.”  Pansy sighed, and Fred gave her a grin that she could only describe, in the best case scenario as excited and in the worst case as sinister.  She had a feeling it was more sinister, not in a bad way just… she knew of the twin’s hijinks, she wasn’t an idiot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect.  Ginny, be ready to help her if she starts to fall.”  He said, and Ginny nodded.  Pansy raised her eyebrow because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was vague as fuck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you-.”  She was cut off by George shoving her forward a bit, broom in hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go.”  He insisted, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Well, that was quick.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now?”  Pansy asked, glancing around nervously, and George shook his head and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if her questions was <em>so </em>annoying.  Prick.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!  Why go slow, just get to it!”  George barked, and Pansy chuckled and looked at the ground as she mounted the broom.  If nothing else, this should be good for an injury that'll excuse her from being 'taught' anything more.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I had a sickle for every time I’ve heard a guy say that to someone…”  Pansy muttered, and she felt a hand clock her upside the head.  Ow.  That was uncalled for.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parkinson!”  Ginny snapped, and Pansy shrugged.  She wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?  I’m in a house full of idiots, what did you expect?”  Pansy asked with a smirk, and Ginny sighed and nodded.  Maybe this was something that only they could relate to, because the boys looked utterly clueless.  Before any questions could be asked, Pansy rose into the air, feeling the whole time like she was going to throw up.  Why had she agreed to this?  Why couldn't she just let the others be better at things than she was?  Clearly they already were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this good?”  Pansy called down, clenching her jaw as her knuckles went white on the broom.  It felt like she was going to fall off at any moment.  It was embarrassing, being so bad at something that seemed to come <em>so </em>naturally to everyone else.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re wobbling a lot, it's like you’ve got no faith in the broom!”  George shouted, and Pansy resisted the urge to flip him off and gritted her teeth, feeling her stomach turn as she tried to straighten out.  It didn’t work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>!  It’s old as shit!”  Pansy shot back, and George chuckled.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s right, it is pretty old.”  He said to the others and Pansy looked back to see Fred shrug and scoff.  Rude.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh please, none of </span>
  <em>
    <span>us </span>
  </em>
  <span>have ever been shaken off that thing.”  Fred reminded them, and Ginny was still keeping her eyes on Pansy, a small frown on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe she’s just really terrible at it-.”  Ginny mumbled, and Pansy glared behind her, instantly shutting Ginny up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear </span>
  </em>
  <span>you!”  Pansy snapped, and she heard the twins laugh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We know!”  They chorused, and Pansy rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are the biggest assholes I’ve ever met!”  Pansy shouted, swallowing the lump in her throat as she tried again to take off.  It worked, but she would’ve preferred if it hadn’t, because she was wobbling even worse now, and she could hear Fred and George snickering and slowly began to think of ways to exact her revenge.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, let her come down.  Don’t make her do this, it's clear she doesn’t want to.” Pansy heard another voice call.  French accent, must be Fleur.  But the younger Weasleys didn’t seem affected by this, they didn’t seem to care.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Three against one!  We win.”  George tried, and Pansy heard someone chuckle.  Probably Bill, if Fleur was out here he was never far behind.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let her come down from there or I’m telling mum.”  Bill sighed, and all three of the other Weaselys groaned, but moved aside so that Pansy could land.  Thank Merlin.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously, Bill?  Going against your own family, how dare you?”  George said in mock fury, and Bill nodded, taking the broom out of Pansy’s hand and patting her on the shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re tormenting her, she’s already feeling lousy enough as is.  And she’s right, that broom is old and unreliable, that's why it's been sitting in the back of the shed for so long.  Someone could get hurt.” Bill said matter of factly, and Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine…”  She muttered</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We were just trying to have a bit of fun.” George tried, and Bill gave him a look that instantly silenced him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you always.”  He said, and Pansy walked around him, making her way over to where Fleur was standing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you at least want to watch, Pans?”  Ginny offered, jogging up to the two witches and Pansy shrugged and nodded.  She had nothing against watching quidditch, even if it had gotten her knocked out once… but that was mostly a student being homophobic.  And no one was like that here, clearly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.  I’ll watch.  But I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>getting on a broom again.”  Pansy clarified, and Ginny shrugged and gave her a knowing smirk, placing a hand on her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Never say never, it's a </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonderful </span>
  </em>
  <span>way to get away from the castle and find somewhere private.”  Ginny said, giving Pansy a suggestive look, and before she could even fire anything back, she heard George gag and looked over to see his face fixed in a frown.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gross.” He muttered, and Ginny smacked his arm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said we did anything on the broom!  That would be horribly dangerous, one of us could’ve gotten hurt-.”  Fred cleared his throat and grimaced, shaking his head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>We don’t need all the sorted details, Gin.  Please.”  Fred sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.  Ginny rolled her eyes and sighed, glaring up at her brother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.  Are we doing this or not?”  She asked, and the twins nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.”  They said, and went back out.  Pansy chuckled and shook her head, admiring how the Gryffindors were all being so difficult with one another because how was that <em>not </em>exhausting?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, what idiots.”  Pansy mumbled, and she felt a soft smack on her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Fleur</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re not all idiots.  MIne is quite lovely.”  Fleur said, and Pansy nodded.  Bill did seem to be the nicest out of all of the siblings, she could grant Fleur that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t doubt it.  Haven’t really gotten the chance to say much to Bill.”  She said, and Fleur nodded, crossing her arms as if trying to keep out a chill, which Pansy didn’t get because </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>was quite warm, but to each their own.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s fair, mon ami.  I’m glad to see you came to your senses.”  Fleur said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What was this about?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  She asked, and Fleur chuckled and leaned a bit closer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With Hermione.  Ginny wrote to me when the two of you got together.”  Fleur said, giving her a knowing smile.  Pansy felt her face flush as she rubbed the back of her neck.  There was something that made her feel foolish about being embarrassed by that, but maybe it was a normal response, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been stupid.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… well.  Yeah.  We’re not together right now.”  Pansy mumbled, and Fleur’s expression faltered for a moment as she reached over and gently patted Pansy’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I was at the hospital as well, mon fille.  I wasn’t going to abandon my fiance when he was hurting.”  Fleur said, so casually that it surprised Pansy, but of course Fleur was at the hospital, Pansy had almost forgotten about Bill’s injuries.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you hear?”   Pansy asked, eager to hear anything about Hermione.  Eager to maybe understand why breaking up was her first thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard Hermione talking to Harry and Ron about how she had to break up with you before they left, something about keeping you safe?  She didn’t want to, that much was clear from how much she was crying.”  She explained, and Pansy’s chest panged with guilt.  Because of course she had to go and almost die and stress out her girlfriend.  Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin.  I was probably still out at that point.”  Pansy mumbled, to no one but herself, but Fleur still answered.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oui.  I checked on you a few times, when your blonde friend and Ginny and their girlfriends were out.  I didn’t want you to wake up and be scared or alone, especially after what had happened to you.  Sometimes I sat with Hermione in those days leading up to you waking up, trying to get her to eat something, or take a nap.  She said if she had it her way she wouldn’t take her eyes off of you until she was certain that you were okay.  And that she’d never forgive herself if you were to die because of her.”  Fleur said, her voice coming out soft and gentle, but still cutting through Pansy’s mental fog like a hot knife.  Hermione blamed herself, which wasn’t fair to either of them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t her fault.”  Pansy said, before even thinking about it.  She meant it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she’d </span>
  </em>
  <span>been the one to get into that mess, not Hermione, meaning it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>fault.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think somewhere in her she knew that, but it's hard not to blame yourself when your love gets hurt.”  Fleur said, and Pansy sighed.  Of course she knew that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”  She said, and they were quiet for a moment before Fleur cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was right about one thing.”  Fleur said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What could she possibly be on about now?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked, and Fleur leaned a little closer, giving her a knowing look before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were in love with her then, weren’t you?”  Fleur asked with a smile, her eyes sparkling with something that Pansy couldn’t quite decipher, but it felt like fondness.  Sort of how Daphne’s mother had looked at her all the times she’d run away to their manor over the summers when the Parkinson family became too much to deal with.  It made Pansy’s heart feel a bit warmer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Yeah.  I was.”  Pansy mumbled, and Fleur’s smile only grew as she squeezed Pansy’s arm, her gaze going from fond to knowing an instant.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s easy to tell.  All in the eyes.”  Fleur said, as if that was just a normal statement for people to make. It wasn’t, and Pansy was rather confused.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come again?”  She asked, and Fleur shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whenever you looked at her, your eyes would soften just a bit, like you were looking at something that was priceless and you couldn’t bear to look away.”  Fleur explained, and Pansy’s mouth hung a little open in shock because, yeah.  That was how it had felt, looking at Hermione before they were together.  She didn’t want to blink because she was afraid of missing something… but it hadn’t occurred to her that that would play out on her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make me sound crazy.”  Pansy said with a chuckle, and Fleur shook her head, and lightly patted Pansy’s arm, like she knew something that she didn’t.  And maybe she did, Fleur did give off the energy that she had far too much knowledge, at least in Pansy’s opinion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not crazy.  Just infatuated.”  Fleur said wisely, and Pansy felt her cheeks burn as she rocked back on her heels.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She sighed, and Fleur seemed to pick up on her sadness at the reminder that the girl she was infatuated with wasn’t hers anymore.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t lose hope, Pansy.  She’ll come back to you.”  Fleur assured her, and Pansy hoped to Merlin that she was right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you know that?”  She asked, and Fleur shrugged, looking back up at where the Weasleys were flying around.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She did it once before… although technically I suppose that you had to come back to her.”  Fleur said, letting out a quiet chuckle, and Pansy felt her chest squeeze, the fear and sadness setting back in as she chewed on her lips and crossed her arms across her chest.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  Pansy murmured</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy hated the way she looked.  She really did, it made her sick because of course she had to have her father’s eyes, her father’s cruel, unforgiving eyes, and her mother’s mouth, even more so when it was fixed like this, down in a frown, unapproving of the rest of her.  Her slightly upturned nose that had given her the nickname of ‘pugnose’.  Her long neck that always looked awkward when her hair got a bit too long, a bit too ungroomed like it was now.  The bags under her eyes that just made her look even paler, it was all terrible.  She winced as she lifted her shirt to look at her stomach, and she was reminded again of her mothers words ‘you’ll never be pretty if you keep putting on weight, little one.  You don’t want to disappoint us’.  She’d been able to forget those things over the last few months, maybe only dealing with them late at night but since Hermione was gone… they took over her mind, and made eating all the more difficult, as if healing from almost dying and the flashbacks to a cold knife on her throat didn’t already make it hard.  And of course she could tell it was getting bad again, but it wasn’t beyond her control.  It was never beyond her-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Knock knock.”  Pansy jumped and dropped her shirt when she heard Ginny’s voice behind the door, and quickly dropped back into her chair, trying to look unassuming as the redhead entered the room and closed the door behind her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gin, you don’t have to knock, it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>your room.”  Pansy reminded her, though she was a bit happy Ginny had knocked.  She didn’t know how she could’ve explained what she was doing without worrying the young Weasley.  Pansy hunched back over her parchment, like it had been all she was doing for the last hour, and she felt Ginny peer over her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’re you writing?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy sighed.  It’d started out just as a mind dump, an attempt to make herself think about anything but the words of disappointment playing over and over again in her head, but it’d ended up just being a letter to Hermione.  It shouldn’t be this </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be without her, she lived without her for 16 years without issue.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A letter.  To Hermione.  Obviously I’m not going to try and send it, that would be stupid and put them in danger but… If I just keep sitting with all my feelings I’m either going to drink myself to death or get so high that I forget how to think.”  She explained, purposefully leaving out the part where she looked in the mirror and slowly began to remember every terrible thing her mother had said about her body, causing her to spiral into a slight breakdown.  Ginny didn’t need to be bothered with that.  Ginny sighed and sat down on the floor, tucking her knees to her chest as she rested her head on the wall, staring up at Pansy with concern in her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the second one is safe, but I’d recommend neither.”  Ginny said, clearly trying to lighten the mood with a joke, but given Pansy’s current emotional state, it fell flat.  But she did nod and try to offer a half hearted smile as she set down her quill.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”  Pansy sighed, and they sat in silence for a moment before Ginny cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have… this might sound stupid, but… have you let yourself truly go through what you’re supposed to feel when you lose someone like that?”  Ginny asked carefully, clearly a little worried about upsetting Pansy, who shook her head and stared at the wall, eyes unfocused, face completely blank.  It reminded her of how she’d deal with all the stuff at the manor, before she got disowned.  Just ignore it and eventually your body will have to cannibalize those feelings, and you’ll be stronger for it, that's what her mother always said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Pansy said softly, and Ginny raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She had a million reasons why she didn’t want to cry or feel all she had to feel.  It was a lot of work.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I refuse to be that weak.”  Pansy said bitterly, chewing on her lip and clenching her fists as she felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes.  She would </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>make Ginny deal with her crying </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  The times during the school year were more than enough.  The redhead sighed and stood up, draping her arms over Pansy’s shoulders as she rested her chin on top of her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, showing emotions isn’t weak, it's just the opposite.”  She mumbled, and Pansy rolled her eyes as she rested her hands on Ginny’s arms.  What a load of shit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, please, don’t give me that shit.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny let out a low chuckle and shook her head, Pansy could feel it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean it.”  Ginny muttered, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Like Ginny had <em>any </em>ground to stand on, Pansy could remember the fight she'd had to break up between her and Dean... well... almost fight, but still.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, because you’re just the </span>
  <em>
    <span>queen</span>
  </em>
  <span> of showing the right emotions.”  Pansy said with a snort, and Ginny shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve gotten a bit better… kinda forced to when my girlfriend is Luna Lovegood.  She makes it almost impossible to get mad at her.”  Ginny said quietly, and Pansy let out a chuckle and nodded.  Luna seemed like the type to pull anything good and genuine out to the surface, even on the worst of people, like it was just her nature to be so achingly good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I bet.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny was silent for a good moment before she lifted herself up, switching to resting her hands on Pansy's shoulders instead of her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  Look at me.”  She insisted, and Pansy turned around.  Ginny gestured for her to stand up, so she did, and she felt Ginny's arms slip around her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Pansy asked into a mouthful of Ginny’s hair.  The other witch let out a chuckle and leaned back, placing a hand on either side of Pansy’s face to make sure that she was paying attention.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a hug, you wanker.  You’re my friend and I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to let you push this down until it destroys you.  Even if this breakup is temporary -and believe me, I think it is-, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>cannot </span>
  </em>
  <span>put feeling on hold until she comes back.  That is not healthy and you know that.”  Ginny insisted, and Pansy cleared her throat, trying to look away from Ginny's gaze.  It practically tore through her, she couldn't handle this right now, not at all.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I don’t want to…”. Pansy mumbled, and Ginny sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  What was she supposed to say?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I feel like if I were to start crying now… I won’t stop for some time.”  Pansy said, feeling so achingly hollow.  Ginny sighed and nodded, holding her closer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That makes sense.  You’ve had a shit year, mate.”  She sighed, and Pansy let out a laugh.  Not a real one, but at least she was trying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you figure?  I’m still alive.”  Pansy offered, and Ginny looked up at her with such a sad look that it almost irritated Pansy.  She wasn’t broken beyond repair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… but you’ve got no parents, you watched your best friend get hit with an unforgivable curse more than once, you lost one of your closest friends because he chose to follow the Dark Lord over seeing how he could survive on his own, you were kidnapped, your girlfriend broke up with you </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>you almost died.  That’s a proper shit year if I’ve ever heard one.”  Ginny said softly, running her fingers through Pansy’s hair.  Pansy let out a shaky breath and tucked her face further into Ginny’s shoulder, slowly starting to feel her emotionless front slip.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gin…”. Pansy tried, her body shuddering with the first sob, and Ginny held her even closer, shushing her slightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  It’s okay, yeah?  I’ve got you.”  Ginny mumbled, moving her hand from Pansy’s hair to Pansy’s back, stroking lightly between her shoulder blades as she hummed something… Pansy had heard it before, some sort of childhood tune.  Probably a habit she’d picked up from Molly, Pansy thought.  She pulled away and sniffled, wiping her eyes, trying to ignore the side of her brain that told her she’d just made herself look 1000 times worse, because that extra push wasn’t needed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you shut the door?”  Pansy said, her voice coming out hollow and shaky.  If it was possible, Ginny’s gaze softened even more as she stood up</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.  Just give me one moment, I’ll be right back.”  She said, and left the room.  Pansy wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees as she waited for Ginny to return, feeling more and more hollow by the moment.  It could've been moments, minutes, or hours until Ginny got back, but once she did, and once she shut the door behind her, Pansy lifted her head up and cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’d you go?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny held out a glass of water to her before settling back down with her own and setting it on the ground.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Water.  And I told my mom to make sure the boys leave us alone.”  She explained, and Pansy was grateful for that.  She really didn't feel like having anyone see her break down, Ginny was more than enough.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I feel so stupid, crying like this.”  Pansy said, letting out a broken chuckle as she looked up, trying to will herself to stop crying.  She felt Ginny's hand rubbing soft circles on her shoulder blade.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t.  I’ve only seen you cry a handful of times, and every single one has been justified, including this one, alright?”  Ginny insisted, and honestly, there was no way Pansy could fight that, it wasn't <em>her </em>interpretation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  She sighed, and Ginny cleared her throat.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to owl Daphne or Tracey?  See if they can come around tonight?”  She asked, and Pansy was quick to shake her head.  That would only make this <em>worse</em>.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  I don’t want them to have to deal with this… plus I don’t know if an owl would reach them in time.  They deal with me enough all year, I don’t want to ruin their summer holidays.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny </span>
  <span>gave her a look.  She already knew where Ginny was going to go with this, and it didn't matter.  It wasn't the point.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They care about you.”  And Pansy was right, of course she was going to be reminded that Daph and Tracey were her friends, and she knew that, but she'd put them through so much already, they shouldn't have to deal with more.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but everyone deserves a break.”  Pansy said, and for a moment they were silent before Ginny shifted to look at her again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So when are you planning to give yourself one?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy snorted and looked over at her, wiping under her eyes as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not funny.” She mumbled, and Ginny’s gaze softened a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a joke.  When are you going to care about yourself enough that you finally give yourself a break, huh?”  Ginny asked, arching her eyebrow.  And there was the stubborn witch Pansy was used to, not that Ginny being softer with her wasn’t welcome, it was just getting to be a bit odd.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... I don’t-.”  She tried, but was cut off by Ginny letting out a heavy sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop.”  The other witch said, her instruction very soft, and Pansy looked over at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny sighed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop blaming yourself for the person you used to be.  Because I know that's where your mind went back to right now.  You’ve ran yourself ragged trying to change, and you successfully did.  And were you a shit person?  Absolutely.  Are you a better person now?  Yes.  Hermione wouldn’t love you if you weren’t a good person.”  Ginny pointed out, and Pansy opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t think of anything, so she closed it and shrugged, wiping under her eyes again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still feel like I’m putting you guys out.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny gave her a funny look and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mum literally insisted.”  Ginny reminded her, and Pansy shrugged, looking over at the wall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m healed now, though.”  She insisted, the lie feeling sour on her tongue.  She felt Ginny softly turn her face back, and saw a questioning expression her face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me see the gash.”  Ginny said softly, and Pansy placed a hand on her still healing collarbone.  She didn’t need Ginny hovering about, worrying about her well being.  Clearly she was fine, she was still moving and living so she was fine.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine.”  Pansy insisted, and Ginny gave her a stern look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans.  Now.”  She instructed, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She hardly saw the point.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Here.”  Pansy mumbled, pulling her collar to the side, and she watched as Ginny's expression turned into a grimace.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s infected.”  Ginny said, and Pansy shrugged, going to cover it again, but Ginny held the cloth off of the wound.  Wonderful.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only a little, it's not like it can’t heal itself.”  Pansy insisted, and Ginny let out a frustrated sigh as she leaned closer to look at it, clearly upset.  She'd been upset ever since Pansy told her that there was one wound they'd over looked, she almost dragged Pansy back to Mungo's herself, thankfully she'd been talked down by Molly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What I don’t understand is how healers could’ve missed that.  It’s fucking huge.”  Ginny snapped, her eyebrows furrowed as she examined the wound.  Pansy shifted around, trying to ignore the fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah </span>
  </em>
  <span>the healers had missed one of her major injuries… but maybe that was because there were more dire things to attend to.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe they saw the blood loss as more of an issue.”  Pansy muttered, only half joking.  Ginny rolled her eyes and stood up again, making her way to the door.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait here.”  She sighed, and after a moment in the hall she came back in with a small case in her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny shook the box with a smile as she sat down cross legged from Pansy and gestured for her to pull her shirt up.  Pansy's face drained of color as she pulled the garment fully over her head, hoping to Merlin that Ginny didn't notice that her ribs were a bit more prominent.  Luckily, she didn't.  Thank <em>Merlin</em>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First aid kit.  It’s a muggle one that Hermione left here a while back, but it’ll do that trick.  Okay… I’ve seen her use one of these little dudes to clean wounds before.  Just hold still.” Ginny instructed, and she leaned in, carefully dabbing the cloth against Pansy's skin.  She winced and pulled away when it started to burn, feeling a little bit buzzy.  Was Ginny <em>sure </em>those weren't magic?  Because they didn't feel like anything muggle.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy gasped, nearly kicking Ginny, who used her free hand to hold down the offending leg as she raised her eyebrow at Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?”  She asked, and Pansy nodded, squeezing her eyes shut as she gritted her teeth.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it just hurt.”  Pansy winced as Ginny rubbed a little harder.  Ow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s gonna sting, I remember Hermione cleaning a wound on my knee and I almost punched her.” Ginny said, chuckling softly as she went back to digging in the small case.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad you didn’t.”  Pansy mumbled, and Ginny shrugged before pulling back.  Pansy let out a quiet sigh of relief because she didn't know how much longer she could've gone without smacking Ginny away from her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, and now, we’re gonna cover it.”  Ginny said, pulling out what looked like a roll of gauze.  It probably was, but Pansy could never be too sure... because the cloth had burned her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine-.”  Pansy tried, but Ginny gave her a look that made her quiet immediately.  Okay, she could totally see why people on the quidditch team were a bit intimidated by her, even if Pansy knew her well enough to not <em>actually </em>be afraid.  She settled back down and let Ginny carefully wrap the gauze around her back and shoulder until she was satisfied with the covering.  And Pansy had to admit, it was aching a bit less now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thats better.  And I’m getting you a clean shirt because I don’t think  you’ve changed since getting here.”  Ginny said, making a face, and Pansy opened her mouth to protest, but she realized that Ginny was right.  She hadn't had the energy, or the state of mind, to remember to change, which yes, she knew was gross but it was what she was dealing with right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Thanks.” Pansy mumbled, because she couldn’t argue with something that was true.  Ginny nodded and wandered back into the rest of the house again, reappearing a couple moments later with a worn looking shirt in her hand, which she tossed to Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I figured something big was better than something small so that it didn’t irritate the wound.  It’s one Charlie’s old shirts that he left behind when he moved.”  Ginny said as Pansy turned her back to change, hoping to Merlin that Ginny didn’t take notice of anything.  Apparently she didn’t which made Pansy let out a quiet sigh of relief.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to do this.”  Pansy said when she turned back around and Ginny smiled and pulled her into another quick hug before she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re friends.  It’s what we do.”  Ginny said, so simply that Pansy knew that there was no arguing with her.  Fine.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Pansy sighed, settling down on the ground, curling up as she pulled her robes over her.  She heard Ginny let out a frustrated sigh, but she didn't say anything.  Good, maybe she'd let Pansy get away with it for another night.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.”  Ginny said, breaking their silence, and Pansy turned over on her side so she could see Ginny.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Pansy asked, and Ginny waved her over.  No.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here.”  She said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She didn't want to encroach on Ginny's space, being on the floor was enough.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny huffed and turned over in her bed, giving Pansy a look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>sleeping on the floor again!  My bed is plenty large enough for the both of us.”  Ginny sighed, and Pansy shook her head.  She was a guest, no reason to make Ginny’s life more difficult</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gin-.”  Pansy tried, but Ginny wouldn’t hear any of it, much to Pansy’s dismay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Ginny commanded, and something in her tone had Pansy on her feet in a moment, which was a bit embarrassing, taking orders from someone younger than her.  But apparently Ginny’s authoritative tone was a bit terrifying, Pansy made note of that as she crawled into bed, trying her best to take up as little room as possible.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re being so difficult.”  Pansy said with a sigh and she heard Ginny let out a chuckle behind her as the room darkened.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Says the one literally trying to go against everything I say.  Now lay down and get some sleep.  Please.”  Ginny sighed, turning away from Pansy.  The Slytherin looked up at the ceiling and let her thoughts run wild as she heard the redhead’s breathing slowly even out, leaving her alone with her thoughts yet again.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0062"><h2>62. Chapter 62</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Eating disorder</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>This was going to be a shitshow, Pansy just </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was.  Like yes, she loved her friends, but she also knew they both came from money.  And they could be total dicks when they wanted to.  But maybe tonight would be a good night, maybe she wouldn’t have to worry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I cannot believe I let your mother talk me into inviting Daphne and Tracey to a Weasley family dinner.  You know how mean they can be!”  Pansy hissed, but Ginny didn’t seem too worried as she shrugged and flicked her hair from in front of her face, glancing over at Pansy as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if you keep them quiet, it’ll be okay.  Plus, Tracey’s pretty nice, I think Daphne is the more angry one.”  Ginny said, and yeah, her theory proved correct, but still.  It wasn’t a comforting thought for Pansy to sit on.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, but still.  Put them together and it can be a lethal combination.”  Pansy sighed, and she meant it.  As much as she loved her friends, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>aware of just how bitchy all three of them could be under the right circumstances, but Ginny again, seemed calm.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, alright?  Luna’ll be there too, there will be buffers, and I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>not afraid to hex your friends, no offense.  When are they getting here?”  Ginny asked, glancing over at Pansy who was finishing her eyeliner.  She leaned back and shrugged, as she hadn’t really given them  an exact time, just an estimate.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Soon.”  She said, and Ginny nodded, leaning back on her palms as she looked up to where Pansy was standing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice, nice.  Luna should be here any minute.  I’ve been missing her and wanted to get in some conversation before dinner, because I know the boys are going to try and tease her about dating me and fail miserably.”  Ginny explained, and Pansy nodded, chewing on her lip.  Luna getting her early was very good she could use that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  Maybe that will pacify Daphne for the night… although she’s wrapped so tight around Tracey’s finger that I’m pretty sure Tracey could just give her a </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>and she’d shut right up.”  Pansy muttered, and Ginny snorted, elbowing her lightly, taking Pansy's glare with no fear.  She'd earned the glare, she could've fucked up Pansy's makeup.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re acting as if you’re not the same way with Hermione.”  Ginny pointed out, and Pansy could <em>feel </em>her face drop.  She didn't want to talk about Hermione right now, it only made her more sad every time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... If she wants me back after her mission.”  Pansy mumbled, and Ginny sighed and rested her head on her shoulder, bringing her other arm around the Slytherin in a half hug as they both regarded their reflections.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She will, Pans.  Of course she will.”  Ginny whispered, squeezing her arm before releasing and straightening up.  Pansy honestly wished that she was that optimistic.  It must be nice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know that and neither do I.”  Pansy pointed out, and Ginny shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got faith.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  It must come easy to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least one of us does.”  Pansy murmured, and she saw concern flit across the Gryffindor’s face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so damn negative all the time, it’s honestly starting to make me worried about you.  Like do I need to write someone or…”  Ginny trailed off and Pansy huffed and pushed away from the mirror.  She didn’t want or need a single person’s help.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gin I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy insisted, and Ginny sighed and nodded, not looking convinced as she leaned on the doorframe.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you say so.”  Ginny said, and Pansy went to respond, but before she could they heard a voice ring out into the house.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“GIRLS!”  Molly yelled, and Ginny sighed and held out a hand to Pansy, who took it easily and let herself get led to where they needed to go.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s probably Daphne and Tracey then.  How’d you tell them to get here?”  Ginny asked as they made their way out of her room.  Pansy jerked her chin towards the den as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Floo.”  Pansy said, and Ginny frowned and nodded.  Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>about to let Daphne apparate, not when she almost died during the exam because of nearly getting splinched.  It just wasn’t safe.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Makes sense.”  Ginny mumbled, and the second they made it in the den, Pansy saw Daphne tumble out of the floo, coughing and pounding on her chest.  Right, Pansy thought, Daphne hates small spaces.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I hate taking the floo.  Always makes me feel so cramped-Oh!  That wasn’t directed at anything to do with your house or you, Mrs. Weasley, I just-.”  Molly chuckled and waved off the Slytherin’s apology.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No I quite understand, dear.  It’s okay.  And it’s Molly, you can call me Molly.  Pansy can do it, so can you.”  She said, and Daphne’s smile softened as she held out her hand for a handshake to the short woman.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Nice to meet you Molly, Daphne Greengrass.  You have a lovely home.”  Daphne said, giving her prizing-winning smile, one Pansy had grown to be a bit envious of.  Molly returned the smile and took the girls hand, shaking it quickly before patting the back of it with her free hand.  She was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a loud curse and the sound of a body hitting the ground.  Tracey.  Of course.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>manage to fall?”  Tracey asked, groaning as she stood up, rubbing the spot where she’d bumped her head.  Daphne grinned over at her and pressed a kiss to the other witches lips.  It made Pansy happy, seeing her friend feel so openly when she’d felt so shitty about falling in love in the first place.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re more clumsy.”  Daphne pointed out, and Tracey glared down at her girlfriend, clearly annoyed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh fu-I mean shut up.  Hi!  You must be Ginny’s mom, you two have the same eyes.”  Tracey said, putting on her best smile which made Pansy snort because </span>
  <em>
    <span>honestly </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was so unlike Tracey sometimes.  But Molly seemed to appreciate the compliment as she shook her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well thank you, dear.  And I’ll take it that you’re Tracey?”  She asked, and Tracey nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes ma’am.”  Tracey said quietly, and Molly rolled her eyes, giving Pansy a look that really read ‘are they always like this?’  and Pansy shrugged and gave her a slight nod.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough of that, it’s Molly.”  She said as she turned back to the Slytherin, who looked a little bit uncomfortable.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Molly.  Got it.  Gin, I love your house.  It’s unique.”  Trace said, giving Ginny a smile.  But the redhead didn’t seem convinced.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!” Ginny snapped, narrowing her eyes at Tracey, who held up her hands in defense and widened her eyes.  Pansy snorted, because she was probably scared that Ginny might </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>throw a hex at her. Honestly… Pansy wouldn’t put it past her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No I’m serious!  I genuinely think it's cool!.”  Tracey squeaked, and Ginny leaned back on her heel with a nod.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… but you’re on thin ice, Davis.”  Ginny warned, but her lips turned up in a warm smile soon after, which seemed to be a bit confusing to Tracey, who still made sure to keep a little more quiet as she greeted the other Weasleys.  Daphne made her way back over to Pansy and pulled her into a tight hug, which was surprising because that wasn’t her </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal </span>
  </em>
  <span>greeting, but Pansy would take it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi.”  She whispered, and Pansy sighed and rested her forehead down on her friend’s shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  Pansy murmured back, and she heard Daphne breathe in sharply as she felt around on her back.  Shit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so fucking far from okay, holy shit.”  Daphne murmured in her ear, keeping them in a tight hug for longer than needed.  Pansy cleared her throat and raised her eyebrow, glancing around at the others.  No one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary, good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne pulled back, luckily keeping her voice low.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have not seen you this dead eyed since you got crossfaded at that party in fifth year and couldn’t walk straight.”  She said, and Pansy grimaced.  She remembered hearing about that night, even if she didn't have memories of it herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Daph.”  Pansy insisted, and Daphne rolled her eyes and linked their hands together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not.  But come with me.”  Daphne insisted and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  What could this possibly be about? </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne turned around and cleared her throat, getting Molly’s attention.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy and I are stepping out for a moment!  Be right back!”  She said, sounding bright and happy in the fakest way possible, but Molly didn’t seem to notice, or maybe just didn’t care as she smiled and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, you’ve got plenty of time before dinner.”  She said, and Daphne yanked Pansy out the door, letting go of her the second it swung shut.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish you would’ve told me to dress more casually, I feel like an ass.”  Daphne mumbled, pulling at the hem of her skirt.  Pansy snorted and shrugged, totally understanding why Daphne had gone more formal, it was how they were raised.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought it kind of went without saying.  Does Ginny strike you as a black tie formal girl?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shook her head.  Okay, so why do it then?  Maybe her mother had made her, that would be something that Mrs. Greengrass would do, not out of malice, just because she wanted her kid putting her best foot forward.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  She sighed, and Pansy chuckled</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then why would you assume that for her family?  They’re lovely, very laid back.”  Pansy said, leaning against the outer wall of the burrow as Daphne dug around for something.  After a moment she pulled out a joint and lit it, offering it to Pansy with a raised eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy let out a breath of relief as she swiped it from her friend.  Wonderful.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span> yes, Ginny hasn’t let me smoke at all.  Something about how she’s scared I’ll use it as my only way to cope.  Ridiculous.”  Pansy mumbled around the joint as she lit it, and Daphne shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she’s right. You do do that.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes as she blew the smoke out of the side of her mouth.  What a wanker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”  Pansy sighed, and Daphne gave her a worried look as she seemed to observe her even more.  It was a bit uncomfortable, just how intense Daphne’s gaze was right now, it made Pansy want to pull her arms around herself and hide.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy, you look like hell.”  Daphne said, and Pansy scoffed.  How sweet.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Thanks</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy said sarcastically, because who the hell says that to her friend.  This didn’t phase Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you stop eating?”  Daphne asked, and of course she could tell.  Pansy cursed herself for not wearing something baggier, something that could hide the fact that she’d lost weight when she had none left to lose.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...”  Pansy didn’t want to answer that, because she felt like if she were truthful, it was someone else to let down.  Just like her parents, her family, most of her old friends… she shook her head to try and get out of that spot because </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin </span>
  </em>
  <span>why was she so firmly stuck in that place?  It wasn’t good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans.”  Daphne said softly, placing two fingers under Pansy’s chin to make her look up.  Pansy was shocked to be met with worry and a look of caring, not a look of anger and disappointment.  Merlin, her brain was so fucked right now, why would Daphne be mad at her?  She didn’t want to think about that for very long because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>her mind would be able to come up with a laundry list of reasons.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked, and Daphne chewed on her lip for a moment before speaking, dropping her hand to Pansy’s shoulder, wincing at the bone she felt there.  Obviously, Pansy was always boney, but she was aware that it had to be that much more severe right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You promised me, Pans.”  Daphne mumbled, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She had no memory of this alleged ‘promise’.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did I promise?”  Pansy sighed, taking another drag from the joint as she watched Daphne’s lower lip tremble before the blonde ran a shaking hand through her hair, looking anywhere but Pansy’s face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fourth year when you were in the infirmary.  I stayed there with you every day after classes for three weeks because I was so scared that I was going to lose you and you </span>
  <em>
    <span>promised </span>
  </em>
  <span>me that it was never going to get that bad again.”  Daphne said, sounding so small that Pansy could almost hear their fourteen year old selves having that conversation.  And of course, it was easy to promise that in the moment because she’d been doing better.  It wasn’t active, nothing had triggered it to start again… but in the middle of one of her episodes...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that easy.”  Pansy mumbled, and Daphne looked at her like she was some kind of kicked puppy.  It was disgusting, absolutely made Pansy’s skin crawl.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could’ve told me…”  Daphne tried quietly, and Pansy cut her off and shook her head.  It wasn't worth it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to drag you down.”  Pansy said, and Daphne let out a shaky sigh and took another drag from the joint.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please say this only started once the summer holidays started.”  She said quietly, and Pansy shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Basically-.”  She tried, but it wasn’t enough for Daphne, of course it wasn't enough for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So that's a lie.  Merlin, how did I miss it </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Daphne sighed, covering her face with her hands.  Pansy shook her head and set her jaw, lightly wrapping her hands around Daphne’s wrists to pull them down.  This wasn’t her problem to deal with, Pansy could do it alone.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because it’s not a big deal!  And it’s not your problem to begin with!”  Pansy snapped, and Daphne rolled her eyes, yanking her hands back from Pansy as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Madame Pomfrey </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>said it was a big deal!  That if it got that bad again you could die!”  She reminded her, and this sobered Pansy a bit to the reminder that if she died, it really affected a lot more than just her or Hermione.  Because yeah, Hermione never left her side, but neither did Daphne.  Or Tracey.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I eat sometimes.”  She tried, hoping that would appease her friend, but to no avail of course.  Daphne only looked more dubious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bullshit.  How much?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  She hadn’t been keeping that close of a count on what she was eating.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some fruit and tea at breakfast.  Maybe some bread for lunch.  It’s hard to eat past that, but I do try.” Pansy mumbled, and Daphne’s face fell even more, if that was possible.  It just made Pansy feel worse, this was exactly why she’d kept it to herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans... That’s so not enough.”  She said, and for some reason, that was what finally pushed Pansy into anger, the one emotion she’d tried to keep herself from feeling the whole time she was here.  She clenched her fists and </span>
  <span>glared down at Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not hungry!”  Pansy countered, and Daphne pushed herself off the wall and grabbed the front of Pansy’s shirt, yanking her down to eye level.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Bullshit!”  Daphne shouted, loud enough that it shocked Pansy silent for a moment as both girls stared at each other, one crying, and the other too numb to get there at this point.  Pansy shook off Daphne’s grip and cleared her throat, trying to remain standing tall, matching Daphne’s energy so that she could at least have some semblance of control.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t eat!  Okay?  Because whenever I try to eat right now I feel sick and it just gets worse and worse and I can’t do it.”  Pansy said, and she felt tears stinging in the sides of her eyes as she did because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>admitting that.  It always felt like something she shouldn’t be allowed to complain about.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t do this.” Daphne said quietly, and Pansy raised her eyebrow.  Well, that could mean so many things.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do what?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go dark on me again, Pans.  I almost lost you </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t want to bury my best friend before we even finish Hogwarts, I don’t know how I would ever recover from that.  Not that that’s the point at all, because it isn’t.  This is about you, and how I can help you… feel alright again.  Did… did Hermione know about this?” Daphne asked, and Pansy snorted and shook her head quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course she didn’t know!  I wasn’t going to tell her that.”  She said, and Daphne chewed on her lip before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When did it start.”  Daphne said, and Pansy shook her head.  She was not having this conversation, not now, not ever.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Pansy said firmly, and Daphne raised an eyebrow as she sat on the ground, cross legged, looking up at Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not moving until you talk to me.”  She said, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>this is happening.  Daphne had pulled that ever since first year, Pansy found it very annoying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine!  It started after my kidnapping!”  Pansy blurted, and Daphne’s eyes just got even sadder as she sighed and shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Pansy that was almost a month ago.”  She reminded her, and Pansy shrugged.  She’d asked when it started, not when it had gotten difficult to manage.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it didn’t get </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad until exam week, and by that point I was so focused on exams and Hermione and figuring out what Draco was doing that I… I didn’t even mean to fall back into it, alright?  It just happened.”  Pansy assured her, and Daphne stood up, dusting off the back of her legs as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What helps?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”  She asked, and Daphne gave her a look, like it should’ve been obvious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I do to help?  I’m not letting you fade away again, Parkinson.”  Daphne insisted, and Pansy shrugged.  She had no idea how to let her friends help with this, she often just shut them out and hoped it kept them safe.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… that’s part of the reason I started smoking so regularly, it keeps my appetite up.”  Pansy tried, and Daphne mulled that over.  Good.  Something is better than nothing, Pansy supposed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.  I can help with that.  And… I won’t disclose anything personal to Ginny, but I’ll just let her know that you need to.  For your health.”  Daphne said, and Pansy let out a small breath of relief.  Finally.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.”  She said, and she meant it.  Daphne cleared her throat and leaned a little closer, lowering her voice.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I do think you should tell her eventually.”  She said, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head.  That made no sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would I tell Ginny?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne raised an eyebrow and shrugged as she took another drag.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, she already knows all your other deep, dark secrets… even if it wasn’t on purpose that she found out.”  Daphne reasoned, and yeah, that was true, but that didn’t mean that Pansy wanted to overload her with anything more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll think about it, but I don’t see how it's any of her business-.”  She started, but before she could finish she was cut off.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello Pansy.”  Pansy heard a dreamy voice lilt out and she jumped, gripping her chest as she turned around, seeing Luna standing there like it was where she’d always been.  What a </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrifying </span>
  </em>
  <span>way to make yourself known.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin!  Hi, Luna.  Where the hell did you come from?”  Pansy asked, glancing around to see if anyone </span>
  <em>
    <span>else </span>
  </em>
  <span>had just managed to appear.  Luna blinked and pointed out behind her, shrugging.  Okay, so she’d just been </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Brilliant, Pansy thought with a sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been standing here for a few minutes.  Surprised that neither of you saw me.  Are you okay?  Your head is just </span>
  <em>
    <span>flooded </span>
  </em>
  <span>with wrackspurts right now.” Luna murmured, and Pansy let out a shaky breath. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m fine.  How much did you hear?”  Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow, and Luna shrugged, giving her an easy smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t hear anything.  Oh!  But I did bring you something… one moment…”  Luna mumbled, and she began to rummage through her bag.  Pansy raised an eyebrow at Daphne, who merely shrugged.  Okay, so she didn’t know either.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.  Hermione mentioned once that you liked these, and I wanted to get you a ‘I’m glad you’re still alive’ gift.”  Luna explained, pressing the bar into her hand, an expectant smile on her face.  Oh, how horribly on the nose to be given food as a gift right now, Pansy thought, but she nevertheless gave Luna as genuine a smile as she could manage.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Luna… that’s very thoughtful.”  Pansy mumbled, turning the chocolate over in her hand and sure enough.  It was her favorite kind from Honeydukes, which was touching to say the least.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Luna said, and Pansy was silent for a long moment, hoping the Ravenclaw would get the point, but it didn’t work.  She just kept basically looking into Pansy’s soul, which was concerning considering just how little she wanted someone to glance in there.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Luna, why don’t you head inside and greet the others, alright?  Pans and I just need to finish something up, we’ll be right in.”  Daphne said, giving the girl a smile that registered completely as fake to Pansy, but it wasn’t as if Luna was paying attention.  She was instead giving Pansy an odd look that seemed to be concern.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.”  Luna said cautiously, but paused beside Daphne to whisper something in her ear.  The Slytherin nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, she’s fine.”  Daphne mumbled to Luna about whatever she’d said, but Luna didn’t look convinced as she walked into the Burrow.  Pansy turned to her and crossed her arms, knowing that she was probably the subject of that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did she ask?”  She asked, and Daphne sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you were okay.  I just lied to Luna Lovegood, and Merlin. I think being friends with your girlfriend broke something in me because I actually felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad </span>
  </em>
  <span>about it.”  Daphne grumbled, and Pansy let out a humorless laugh and nodded.  That sounded about right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, she’ll do that to you.  Humanize the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>out of you. It’s crazy.”  Pansy mumbled, and for a moment the two Slytherins were silent, and then Daphne spoke again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know it's hard.  I’m not even going to try denying that because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>it is or you wouldn’t be struggling.  But I’m going to help.”  Daphne said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She really didn’t need this right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and Daphne gave her a look like she was stupid.  Okay, fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you’re my best friend… and because the person who normally pushes you and makes you feel better is currently off saving the world with her stupid friends and making sure that she can still be a part of the wizarding world.  So in the capacities that aren’t sexual or physical, I’m gonna do what she does… but not as nicely because I’m kind of an asshole.”  Daphne said, giving her a watery smile before pulling Pansy into a tight hug, which she didn’t even try fighting.  She was too tired to pretend like she didn’t want her friend to care enough to hug her right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, are you guys coming back-what's going on out here?”  Tracey asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced between the two of them.  Daphne cleared her throat and flashed a fake smile at her girlfriend, and wow.  That made Pansy feel like a wanker, her friend lying to her girlfriend.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, Trace.  We’re fine.” Daphne insisted, but Pansy knew that wasn't going to work.  Tracey could see through Daphne every single time, there was no point in trying to lie to her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re not… Daph, you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>crying</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  You never cry.”  Tracey said, clearly getting more concerned by the moment, but Daphne sniffed and waved her off, wiping under her eyes as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously, babe.  It’s fine-.”  Daphne tried, but Tracey’s gaze only narrowed further.  This should be fun.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t lie to me.  One of you better fucking tell me or I swear to </span>
  <em>
    <span>merlin-</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy sighed and crossed her arms, setting her jaw at the feeling of discomfort in her stomach about the fact that she was the reason that her friends were fighting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m getting bad again.”  Pansy mumbled, and Tracey paused, her face dropping as she turned to fully face Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Oh.  Well, now I feel like an ass.”  She said, and Pansy shrugged, uncrossing her arms and looking down at the ground.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“S’okay.  I should’ve said something to you and Daphne way sooner.”  Pansy said, and the other two were silent for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you tell your girlfriend?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy shook her head.  She couldn’t even imagine that conversation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.”  Pansy sighed, and Tracey gave her a look, which Daphne echoed.  Merlin, it was like she was talking to a parent and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>her two best friends.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  That’s not safe.”  Tracey said, and Pansy shrugged.  She wasn’t trying to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe </span>
  </em>
  <span>she was trying to get away with it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m aware.  I didn’t want to bother anyone.”  Pansy mumbled, and Tracey gave her a knowing look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you didn’t want anyone to stop you.”  Tracey said, and Pansy paused.  Yeah, but that wasn’t something she was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>say</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...”  Again, she had no response, but that didn’t deter Tracey.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know that’s part of it, okay?  After it got bad the first time, I did some research.  I’m not an expert by any means, but at least I’m no longer as clueless because that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrifying</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Tracey said, letting out a long breath, and Pansy felt her chest squeeze with guilt.  That was why she didn’t want them worrying this time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.”  Pansy mumbled, and Tracey shook her head and cupped her cheek, giving her an easy smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t apologize, it's not something to be sorry for.  And I know it's gonna be hard… but if not for yourself, maybe for your friends… can you try a little bit?  Just some at a time, because I don’t know if Ginny’ll be able to handle if it gets super bad.”  She explained, and Pansy nodded.  She agreed with Tracey on that, it was part of the reason she’d gone to such lengths to hide it.  In addition to it not being Ginny’s business, it wasn’t something Ginny should have to deal with right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.  And I am trying, it's just hard.  And a little scary.”  Pansy mumbled, and Tracey raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you won’t be in control or because-.”  She cut Tracey off with a heavy sigh.  She really hadn’t given that much thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not about my weight or how I view myself anymore.  I no longer have my mom in my ear talking about how the only pureblood girls who impress wealthy men are the pretty, skinny ones and since I’d already failed the first category, I had to get the second.  I think… I don’t know why, honestly.  Because it felt easier to fall back into it rather than keep fighting it?”  Pansy said, shrugging at the end of the sentence, and Daphne and Tracey both nodded, but Daphne stayed back and quiet and let Tracey do the talking this time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That makes sense.  But you’re not alone.  Obviously no one can make you do anything, but you’ve got two people here who are not afraid to call you on your shit and we will do our best to help you… probably in the worst ways possible.”  Tracey admitted, and Pansy sighed and nodded, leaning more into her.  So that was a better way to approach it than what Daphne had done, and she was pretty sure both of them knew it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”  Pansy mumbled, resting her head against Tracey’s shoulder.  The other witch sighed and nodded, giving Pansy a quick squeeze before straightening back up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now come on, Molly’s getting worried about you two.”  Tracey sighed, looping her arms through each of theirs so she could pull them through the door.  Pansy wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>dreading </span>
  </em>
  <span>dinner, but it was going to be more difficult now that people who knew were here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  There you three are, I was just setting out dinner.” Molly said, smiling warmly, and Pansy returned the sentiment and took a seat between George and Daphne, not wanting to deal with any fights breaking out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey… you okay there, Dracula?”  George asked, poking her lightly with his fork.  Pansy turned and raised her eyebrow because who the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell </span>
  </em>
  <span>was Dracula?  Was that supposed to be a reference that she got?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who?”  She asked, and George shrugged, taking a bite of his food as he did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Some muggle vampire character I read about in a book when I got bored.”  He said after he swallowed, and Pansy nodded.  Okay, that made sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it.  And yeah.  I’m okay.”  She insisted, but George didn’t look convinced for some reason.  What the fuck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Here.”  George said, putting an extra roll on her plate, which surprised her.  There was no need for that, she didn’t need any more food, she had plenty.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“George, I’m fine-.”  Pansy tried, but he shook his head and put the bread back on her plate before she could deny it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a little more bread, Pans.  I’ve noticed that you like our mom’s bread.  Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of food on my plate.” He said, waving her off.  Pansy’s heart was pounding because </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>was this happening tonight?  Why </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’d you do that?”  Pansy asked, and George shrugged, leaning down so she could talk more quietly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not stupid.”  George muttered in her ear, and Pansy furrowed her brows.  What the hell was that supposed to mean?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What does that mean?”  Pansy asked, raising an eyebrow, and George shrugged, looking down at his plate as he pushed the food around with his fork.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you know.”  He whispered, and Pansy paled.  Had she been that obvious?  Could everyone see?  Were they just not telling her? Pansy’s mind raced in a million different directions for just a moment, but the only person who seemed to notice was Daphne.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“George!  Leave her be!”  Daphne interjected, and George rolled his eyes and looked over at the Slytherin.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m being nice!”  He protested, and Daphne let out a humorless chuckle and folded her hands under her chin as she sized the man up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Likely story, Weasley.”  Daphne said, and George rolled his eyes and glared over at Daphne for a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shut it, Greengrass.”  George snapped, and patted the back of Pansy’s hand before going back into a conversation with Fred about something at the shop.  Daphne caught her eye and cocked her head to the side, but Pansy waved her off.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for the meal, Molly.  It was lovely.”  Tracey said as she pushed back from the table.  After a few moments of chatting, Daphne and Tracey started making their way towards the floo, only to be stopped by Molly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you girls stick around a bit?  The last time you talked to Pansy she was in a hospital bed, it's nice to see her out and around so much.” Molly insisted, and Tracey and Daphne shrugged and looked at each other.  Pansy almost wanted to tell them to go, she didn’t want to make them go anymore out of their way, but she also knew that Daphne wasn’t too keen on letting her out of her sight right now, so she kept her mouth shut.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, alright.  We can do that.”  Daphne said, but before she could follow along with the rest of them, she ran into Fred, knocking something out of his hand.  Pansy sighed and lead Tracey and Luna over to the couch, settling down on her own.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Luna!  So, I have a question about nargles.”  Tracey said, scooting onto the couch next to the Ravenclaw, who raised her eyebrow as she looked over at Tracey, clearly interested in what the Slytherin had to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  She asked, and Tracey’s leg bounced as she thought about what she was going to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are they something to worry about?”  Tracey asked, and Luna thought for a moment before shrugging and shaking her head.  Interesting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, not really… but if you want to keep them away, I can make you a necklace like mine.  I wear it all the time.”  Luna explained, holding out the cork at the end of her necklace.  That made sense, Pansy thought, she hadn’t really considered </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>Luna would wear the necklace, she just knew that the other witch wore it all the time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d love one.”  Tracey said gently, and Pansy couldn’t help but smile at the exchange, especially since at the beginning of the year she’d heard Tracey make fun of Luna quite a few times, before any of them were really friends.  But the sweet moment only lasted so long before someone flicked Tracey’s ear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  Trying to steal my girl, Davis?”  Ginny asked, and Tracey snorted and shook her head, leaning away from Luna to look up at Daphne and Ginny.  It was sweet, Pansy thought, the way that Tracey looked at Daphne, especially considering how dramatic it was before the two of them got together.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need, I’ve got my own.  Thanks.”  Tracey said with a smile, pulling Daphne onto her lap over the side of the couch, causing her to let out an uncharacteristic squeak.  Pansy chuckled and shook her head, resting her chin in her hand as she observed the two couples.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, this was a mistake.”  Pansy said, and Daphne glared over at Pansy from where she was running her fingers through Tracey’s hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oi!  Shut up, Parkinson.”  She snapped, but offered Pansy a friendly wink before turning back to her girlfriend.  Merlin, it just made her miss Hermione even more, if that was possible.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.”  Pansy sighed, kicking her feet up over the side of her chair as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0063"><h2>63. Chapter 63</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This chapter is a bit shorter, sorry</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It might sound like she was being dramatic to the outside observer, but currently Pansy physically could not bring herself to get out of bed.  There was no reason to, obviously, because if something important happened she would just be informed of it later, and it wasn't like she was going to see anyone important if she got up right now.  So she'd resolved to just stay in bed until Hermione came home, and if she never came home, then Ginny would have to drag her to school wrapped up in a blanket because she would not be rejoining the world.  Was that maybe a sign that she'd grown a bit codependant?  Yeah, of course it was but when <em>wasn't </em>Pansy codependant on at least <em>one </em>person, thats what she wanted to know.  If it wasn't Hermione it was Daphne, if not Daphne, Tracey, and at one point it was Draco.  She had this terrible, constant need to be needed, wanted, always around the people who loved her and when she wasn't... this happened.  She shut down, stared the wall and didn't move.  That wasn't always what happened, she used to lash out, but that went away with getting disowned and just left the hollow side behind.  She was also well aware that this wasn't healthy, she probably smelled like death and Ginny shouldn't have to deal with that on her sheets, but again.  It was like she was glued down.  No one really seemed to notice until around noon when she heard the door swing open, and she groaned.</p><p>"Ginny, I know this is your room and all but I would really appreciate it if you just... left me alone."  Pansy sighed, and she heard a laugh that was <em>for sure </em>too low to be coming from Ginny, unless the twins had fed her something from the shop again, but she couldn't currently be bothered to roll over and check.</p><p>"Wrong ginger, idiot."  The voice said, and Pansy rolled her eyes when she recognized it.  George.  That was one interesting thing about crashing at the Burrow, was she'd managed to learn how to tell the twins apart, aside from their obvious differences in personality.  George's voice was just the <em>slightest </em>bit lower then Fred's and he had a tendency to talk a bit slower, making him easier to talk to in Pansy's opinon.</p><p>"Georgie.  Even <em>fucking </em>worse."  Pansy groaned as she felt the edge of the bed dip and felt a hand on her exposed arm.  It took all the willpower in her body not to slap or hex it off, because that would hardly be fair.  George was only doing what he was told, she was sure.  Molly was probably worried she died up here or something.</p><p>"How so?"  He asked, and Pansy sighed, taking the bait.  She rolled over and squinted up at him.  It was so bright in here, honestly.  Why did Ginny always insist on opening her curtains all the way in the mornings?  Like yeah, she's a morning person, she goes and works out at 4:30 in the <em>bloody </em>morning, but if it were up to Pansy she'd sleep her days away.  Not a good roommate arrangement right there, that was for sure, it had led to more than one argument.</p><p>"Because Ginny would still let me lay here.  You're probably going to make me get up."  Pansy reasoned, and George grinned at her and nodded.  Fuck.  Not what she was hoping for, she was hoping he'd take pity on her.</p><p>"You are absolutely correct, I am going to make you get up."  He said, and she groaned and covered her face with a pillow, only for George to uncover it and hold it out of her reach.  Oh, he was treading on <em>dangerous </em>ground right now.</p><p>"You're lucky I can still get expelled for underaged magic because if I couldn't I would <em>so </em>hex you right now."  Pansy snapped, and George chuckled and rolled his eyes before reaching over to mess up her hair.  She caught his wrist and glowered, shoving his hand back.  No way in <em>hell </em>she was letting that shit fly.  She still had at least a <em>shred </em>of her dignity left, and she wasn't going to squander it.</p><p>"I'm positively <em>trembling </em>with fear.  Now come on, get up and get ready.  Freddie and I are expecting you downstairs in ten minutes or else we're coming in with our own methods, and I don't think you'll like them very much."</p><p>"Would muggles call your methods torture?"  Pansy asked, and George paused for a moment, <em>truly </em>thinking about it.  And that was enough to sort of terrify Pansy.  Were her friends really willing to torture her?  That seemed a bit extreme, honestly.</p><p>"I mean... probably."  George reasoned, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Ugh.  That was reason enough to actually get up, fuck.</p><p>"Wanker."  Pansy groaned, but George didn't seem deterred by that, much to Pansy's dismay.  Her insults just weren't doing it anymore.</p><p>"See you in ten."  George called out, and Pansy rolled her eyes and dragged herself out of bed, taking a few moments to change her clothes and freshen up before making her way out to the common area where Fred and George were standing, waiting.</p><p>"Wonderful to see you rejoin the world of the living, Parkinson."  Fred said, and Pansy flipped him off, which she thought was getting off easy.  What kind of a statement was <em>that</em>?</p><p>"Fuck off, Freddie."  Pansy snapped, and Fred faked hurt as he laid his hand across his forehead, looking dramatically at the ceiling for a moment before dropping the act and looking back down to where Pansy stood.</p><p>"Rude.  Disrespectful.  Grab one of our sleeves."  Fred said, holding out his arm, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  They were going to make apparate, and she was not in the mood, especially when they didn't even tell her where they were taking her.  That was just good survival instinct.</p><p>"No."  She said, and George rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Do it."  George insisted, but Pansy didn't trust them enough for that.</p><p>"I will not."  Pansy insisted, but the twins didn't look deterred, if anything they looked more determined, which was worrying, Pansy had to admit.</p><p>"George.  Now."  Fred said, and Pansy felt someone grab her arm, and then everything felt <em>entirely </em>too small and tight and she really felt like she was about to throw up.  And then it was over, except for the getting sick part, that might still be a reality.</p><p>"Oh, I hate you both so much.  So so much."  Pansy said, closing her eyes tight as she tried to make the world stop spinning.  She did <em>not </em>want to puke on the ground of the twin's shop, that felt disrespectful to them, even if they had just forced sidealong apparation on her with little to no warning.</p><p>"We know, we know."  George sighed, rubbing across her back as she willed herself to keep the contents of her stomach on the <em>inside</em>... and thought of all the ways she was going to ruin the twin's <em>lives </em>for making her do that.</p><p>"What the hell am I doing here?"  Pansy asked when the room finally stopped spinning.</p><p>"We thought it might help you get better to come and help us out at the shop.  You know, take your mind off of things."  George said, trying to sound as sincere as possible, but Pansy saw right through that, and she didn't believe it for a single moment.</p><p>"You just want free labor and Ron isn't here."  Pansy pointed out, and the twins were both quick to nod.  Well, good to know where she stood in their eyes.</p><p>"I mean... that too, obviously that too."  Fred said, and Pansy shook her head.  At least they were honest, she had to give them that.  Most people would've been like 'Oh, no, we're just trying to get you to come out of your shell' and she would hate that lie.</p><p>"Fuckers.  Ground rules?"  Pansy asked, and George rolled his eyes.</p><p>"Well the first one is simple.  Don't say fuckers."  George sighed, and Fred nodded, crossing his arms across his chest.</p><p>"Or call people wankers."  He added, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  They were taking away everything she used to express herself, this had to be illegal in some way.  She knew that it probably wasn't, but... shouldn't it be?</p><p>"Or douchebags, or bitches... basically, talk like you'd talk to our mother."  George finished, and Pansy's jaw dropped a bit.  She was expected to treat everyone like one of the few adults in this world that she had actual respect for?</p><p>"To <em>everyone</em>?"  She asked, and the twins rolled their eyes and nodded.  Now where was the fun in that?  Pansy's personality, she liked to think, added some much needed spice to boring situations and shouldn't ever be taken for granted.</p><p>"Yes, Parkinson.  That's called good customer service."  George said, his voice coming out so condescending that Pansy wanted to kick him in his knee, but she didn't.  She was being <em>polite</em>.</p><p>"Sounds incredibly boring, I'll pass."  Pansy sighed, and Fred gave her a pointed look, and honestly it was enough to make her pause.  Out of the two twins she was <em>for sure </em>more afraid of what Fred would do over George because something about Fred just screamed 'I want to commit Arson and I don't care who knows it' and that wasn't an energy that Pansy had ever really had to deal with before.  Like sure, Daphne was <em>chaotic</em>, but she was also law abiding, totally different.</p><p>"You don't have a choice."  He reminded her, and Pansy sighed and nodded, running a hand through her hair as she did.</p><p>"What's in it for me?"  Pansy asked, and the twins looked at each other and shrugged.</p><p>"We'll buy you firewhiskey and weed."  George said, and Pansy gave him a half smile as she nodded, now completely willing to comply.  It was like getting paid actual money but better because she already had actual money, but she was out of both of those things.</p><p>"Ah, the way to my heart."  Pansy said, and George gave Fred a concerned look, but only received a shrug as a response.</p><p>"You've got some serious issues you should address."  George sighed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow at him.  He wasn't wrong but she also <em>never </em>wanted to touch the things she'd shoved into the corners of her mind.  They were very unsettling and would probably reveal a bit too much about her home life that she wasn't quite able to deal with at the moment.</p><p>"Do <em>you </em>want to unpack the shit that I've so carefully tucked away in my mind."  Pansy said, her voice coming out deadpan, and they were both quick to shake their heads.  Well, she thought, at least they've got some common sense.</p><p>"Absolutely not."  The twins said in unison, and Pansy gave them a fake smile and nodded, reaching up to place a hand on either of their shoulders.</p><p>"Good.  Me neither.  Lets just get to work on your <em>stupid </em>shop, alright?"  Pansy asked, the fake joy oozing out of her as she patted them both on the shoulders and pushed past them, making her way towards their inventory.  It wasn't like they were open yet, so she should probably stock <em>something</em>.</p><p>"She's mean."  Fred whispered loudly, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Bitch.</p><p>"Oh yeah, real asshole."  George murmured, back and Pansy wondered for a moment what they'd do if she just... knocked over one of the shelves.  Just for them being rude.  Probably kill her.</p><p>"I can hear <em>both </em>of you!"  Pansy reminded them</p><p>"We weren't whispering."  They called back, and Pansy rolled her eyes.</p><p>"Ugh."  She sighed.  Wankers.  It was another hour until she actually had to deal with customers, and honestly, the first few were fine, very kind, very respectful.  Honestly, Pansy was enjoying herself... for a moment.</p><p>"Excuse me, where can I find the-Parkinson."  Oh wonderful.  Someone who obviously had an issue with her and wasn't Greg, meaning it was probably someone in a different house.  And sure enough, there stood Cormac McLaggen, in all his horrible fucking glory.  Pansy decided to have a bit of fun with him, see if that made the day go any faster.</p><p>"Sorry, do I know you?"  She asked, sounding as confused as she could, and she <em>relished </em>in the way he scowled at her.  It was <em>hilarious</em>.</p><p>"Don't play dumb.  Because of you, your bitch of a girlfriend punched me in the face!  She broke my tooth!"  Cormac snapped,  his face turning redder by the minute, and Pansy stopped playing dumb as she looked up at him, cocking her head for just a moment.</p><p>"<em>Oh</em>.  Cormac.  Odd, you don't look nearly as stupid when you're not objectifying women, sorry.  Considering that's your main personality trait, it was a little difficult to recognize you."  Pansy said, her eyes trained back on the shelf that she was organizing.  She heard Cormac let out a scoff and couldn't help the smirk that went across her face.  She quite enjoyed making people like him upset, it was a wonderful use for her needed outlet of making <em>someone </em>feel like shit.  It was just better that this person deserved it.</p><p>"I should kick your ass for saying that to me."  He sneered, and Pansy chuckled and rolled her eyes.  Honestly, she might just welcome that right now, a coma would be better than having to bend over this much.</p><p>"Go ahead.  Make my day.  The twins will probably let me off easy if I get a few broken bones."  Pansy sighed as she straightened up, stretching her back out as she did.  Merlin, bending over all these shelves was <em>so </em>painful, she really wasn't built for manual labour.  She watched as Cormac's nostril flared and his fists clenched.  Merlin, is he really holding this big of a grudge over one stupid punch?  Plus, he was the one who later groped <em>her</em>.  Shouldn't <em>she </em>be the one kicking his ass?  Maybe, in another life.  One where she isn't so bloody tired.</p><p>"I'm gonna-."  He started, but he didn't get to finish before there was a large shadow in front of Pansy, and she was staring at one of the twin's backs.  Probably Fred, Pansy decided.</p><p>"Get the fuck out of our store."  Fred said, his eyes blazing, and Cormac scoffed and crossed his arms, looking at Fred like he was something off the bottom of his shoe.  Honestly, Pansy thought that was an odd way to look at the shop owner, but what did she know, really?</p><p>"What?!  On what grounds."  Cormac said, sounding as if <em>all </em>of this was unjust.  Like he wasn't just threatening an employee... or maybe a volunteer?  Pansy wasn't sure if getting paid in firewhiskey and weed made her an employee or not.</p><p>"We can refuse service to whoever we want.  And on the grounds that you're a little <em>bitch</em> who likes to hit women.  So unless you're willing to take it up with someone your own size, I'd recommend walking away."  Fred said, his voice coming out slow and measured as he advanced on Cormac.  Honestly, this was entertaining.  She'd expect the righteous anger from George, but not Fred, because Fred might <em>actually </em>beat him up, and Pansy would pay good money to see that fight.  Her bet was on the boy who didn't look moments from pissing himself, specifically Fred.</p><p>"Whatever.  She's not even worth it."  Cormac said, his voice cracking on the last word as he turned and stormed out of the store.  Pansy cleared her throat and looked up at Fred who was still glaring at the door, as if he was daring Cormac to try again.</p><p>"Thanks..."  Pansy said, and the anger in Fred's eyes vanished when he gave her a good natured smile and nudged her shoulder lightly.</p><p>"'Course.  You're family.  And <em>no one </em>fucks with my family, especially not in my shop."  Fred said, and turned to go back further into the store, but Pansy realized something.  He'd broken one of the ground rules during that little exchange.</p><p>"I thought we weren't allowed to call people bitches!"  Pansy called, and Fred shrugged, turning back around to look at her.</p><p>"I made an exception."  He said, and Pansy nodded.  That seemed fair, after all, he <em>was </em>one half of the rule setters.</p><p>"Any other exceptions?"  Pansy asked, and Fred thought for a moment before he landed on something and pointed at her.</p><p>"Draco Malfoy."  He said, and Pansy chuckled.  That sounded <em>perfect</em>, she would love to call Draco Malfoy a bitch... even if he probably would never step foot in this store.</p><p>"Agreed.  Very much agreed."  Pansy said, and Fred grinned at her.  See, when he did <em>that </em>he looked less like someone that would sell you out for a sickle.</p><p>"Good, now get back to work."  He said, and then he was gone, and Pansy turned back to her final shelf, ready to be done with this part of her day.</p><p>"Parkinson?"  Pansy sighed and straightened up, ready to have to fight <em>another </em>one of her classmates.  Honestly, she was starting to wonder if she'd made too many enemies... but then she remembered that there really wasn't such a thing.  Just too many people who couldn't handle her personality, and that was <em>hardly </em>her doing.</p><p>"What can I help you with-Oh.  Brown.  Hi."  Pansy said, a little surprised to see the Gryffindor in the store.  She didn't have anything in her hands, so maybe she was just window shopping.  Or, guessing from the look in her eyes, she had a question that she wasn't sure about asking.</p><p>"Hey... not that it's my business but... why are you working for the Weasley's?"  Lavender asked, and Pansy shrugged.</p><p>"Because I'm currently living with the Weasleys."  She said, and something clicked in Lavender's brain, and she nodded like she knew that.  Well, if she did, she didn't learn it from Pansy.</p><p>"Oh right!  Ron mentioned that that might happen at the end of last year, but he wasn't really firm on it."  Pansy had forgotten that they were even friends, and then she <em>promptly </em>remembered that very tense day in divination, and it all came flooding back.</p><p>"Had nowhere else to go... plus I'm pretty close with Gin these days, so its not as awkward as it could be.  Anyways, what can I help you find?  A love potion, something like that?"  Pansy asked, and she was glad to see that make Lavender chuckle, because that was going to go one of two ways and <em>one </em>of those would probably make the twins a little bit upset.</p><p>"Oh no, I'm just browsing.  Saw you through the window, thought I'd say hi.  Also, I've... got no need for a love potion."  She said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow, turning to fully face the Gryffindor, now a little more interested in this conversation.</p><p>"No shit?  Good for you, Lav.  Whose the lucky guy?"  She asked, and Lavender shook her head.</p><p>"Not a guy."  She said, and Pansy blinked, a little bit surprised.  Lavender had never given her that vibe, but she supposed that things <em>could </em>change, and often <em>did </em>change.</p><p>"Oh.  Nice.  In that case, whose the lucky girl?"  Pansy asked, and Lavender was silent for a long moment, and for a second Pansy thought it was maybe someone horrible, but she couldn't think of a worse girl at Hogwarts than herself, and she was 99% sure that that wasn't what was happening.</p><p>"Would you be shocked if I said it was Parvati?"  Lavender asked quietly, chewing on her lip, and Pansy shook her head.  She was fairly certain that <em>nobody </em>would be shocked if it was Parvati, half the school probably already thought they were together, it just wasn't relevant.</p><p>"I think I'd be more shocked if you said it was literally anyone else.  You two have been inseparable since first year, its damn near impossible to have a friendship that long without thinking about it at least <em>once</em>."  Pansy reasoned, but Lavender didn't look convinced.  Okay, so maybe that was just an extremely closeted girl thing, how was Pansy supposed to know?  It seemed perfectly normal to her, all of her friends had had the same phase... then again, her friends were <em>dating </em>each other, so go figure.</p><p>"Really?"  Lavender asked, and Pansy nodded.  No point in denying it now.</p><p>"Oh fuck yeah, fifth year in my dorm was... <em>certainly </em>a time."  Pansy sighed, grimacing at the memory.  Hard to believe that was only a little over a year ago at this point, she'd really made leaps and bounds out of the closet, wow.  She was jarred from her thoughts by Lavender letting out a laugh, reminding her that <em>yes </em>she actually was in a conversation right now that she should pay attention to.  It was only fair.</p><p>"I don't doubt it."  Lavender said, and Pansy nodded, wanting to think about pretty much anything else right now.</p><p>"Also, the two of you just <em>fit </em>together.  Something about it just looks right too.  And I don't say that lightly, I've got no issue saying if a couple is ugly as hell."  Pansy pointed out, and Lavender chuckled and nodded, leaning against one of the shelves, which did gave Pansy a moment of panic.  She did <em>not </em>want to restock that shelf again, her back would literally give out.</p><p>"Oh, I know."  Lavender chuckled before squealing when someone wrapped their arms around her waist from behind.  Pansy let her hand trail to her wand for a moment, and was relieved when Parvati peaked her head around Lavender's body.</p><p>"Hey darling, we should-Hey Parkinson, you look..."  Parvati trailed off, like she couldn't think of a lie about how Pansy looked.  Totally fair, Pansy knew she didn't look good right now, she looked like <em>hell </em>and that was just a fact.</p><p>"Like shit?  I know."  Pansy said with a chuckle, and she noted how the two Gryffindors shifted uncomfortably.  Okay, so that was the <em>wrong </em>joke to make.  Noted.</p><p>"Well, you said it."  Parvati mumbled.</p><p>"We were all thinking it."  Lavender added, and Pansy narrowed her eyes.  That was hardly fair.</p><p>"Oi!"  Pansy snapped, and Lavender held up her hands in defense.</p><p>"Kidding!  Mostly."  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She'd get Lavender back for that later, she was sure.  But she was on the clock right now, so nothing of the sort could happen.</p><p>"Anyways, congratulations on landing a girlfriend."  Pansy sighed, and Parvati's face dropped for a moment before she lightly smacked Lavender's arm.  Well.  That's an odd way to accept a congratulations, but Pansy wasn't going to try and fault her.</p><p>"Lav!"  Parvati hissed, and Lavender shrunk away.  Oh.  It was meant to be a <em>secret</em>.  Well.  Isn't that awkward?  Not for Pansy, it wasn't her problem, but it was awkward to see.</p><p>"I know we weren't telling people but... what is she really going to do?"  Lavender asked, and she had a point.  What was Pansy really going to do?  Being homophobic would be sort of counterproductive at this point, wouldn't it?  But Parvati still wasn't completely convinced, Pansy could tell.</p><p>"She could be an ass!"  Parvati pointed out, and Pansy resisted the urge to remind Parvati that she was <em>standing right here</em>.</p><p>"I won't?  I've been through people being an ass for me liking women, suffice to say that I don't want to be administering that."  Pansy pointed out, and Parvati sighed and nodded, seeming to calm down a bit at that statement.</p><p>"Right.  Also... since I've got you, I've got an odd question." She said, and Pansy nodded.  As long as it wasn't the price of a really obscure item, she could probably answer it.</p><p>"Go for it." Pansy said</p><p>"A couple of weeks ago, I complimented your bra and-."  Pansy held up a hand to silence her.  She knew where this was going, at least she was fairly <em>certain </em>that she knew where it was going.</p><p>"Now you want to buy it.  Thought that might happen.  Three shops down on the right."  Pansy said, jerking her head in the direction that the shop was in.  Parvati nodded and gave her a small smile.</p><p>"Thanks."  She said, and Pansy nodded.</p><p>"'Course.  It's gonna look <em>gorgeous </em>on you, mark my words." Pansy said, and she meant that.  Parvati had a good body, even if she didn't really flaunt it.  And apparently, even if she didn't think so, if the way she blushed and looked away was anything to go off of.</p><p>"Well, thank you for the vote of confidence."  Parvati mumbled.  It wasn't just a vote of confidence, Pansy knew it was a fact.  She wouldn't have told Parvati the real shop if she didn't think it was true.</p><p>"Course.  But I really should get back to work, the twin'll have my ass if I don't."  Pansy said, and Parvati nodded, backing up towards the door a bit as she spoke.</p><p>"Right well... see you in September, Parkinson.  Oh, and... I heard about you and Hermione.  Sorry, mate."  Parvati said, and the air grew heavy and awkward and Pansy was again reminded why she was so sad.  But she pushed it aside and waved Parvati off with a fake smile, not really wanting to get into it right now, because that would be a bit too heavy for a joke shop.</p><p>"S'alright.  As long as she comes back alive, that's what I care about."  Pansy said, and yeah, she mostly meant that, but she'd also quite like it if Hermione still loved her when she came back, that would her ideal would.  Parvati shrugged.</p><p>"I know but still... it sucks."  She said, and Pansy chewed on her lip, really just wanting the conversation to end.</p><p>"Yeah..."  Pansy sighed, and Lavender sighed and elbowed her girlfriend, causing Parvati to cry out before glaring at her.  It didn't look particularly hard, so it must've just taken her by surprise, at least thats what Pansy thought.</p><p>"Vati!  I don't think she wants to talk about it."  Lavender hissed, and Pansy half-heartedly smiled and shook her head.  If this was a forever thing, she had to get used to it sometime.</p><p>"No, its alright.  But... I should get back to work, and I'm sure the two of you have things to do as well."  Pansy said, really just wanting the conversation to be over.  Luckily, Parvati nodded.  Thank <em>Merlin</em>.</p><p>"Right.  Later, Parkinson."  Parvati called, taking Lavender's hand and leading her to the door.  They looked good together, Pansy hadn't been lying about that.</p><p>"Later Patil."  Pansy called, and she turned to go back to work, shocked to run <em>right </em>into Fred.  Had he been staring at them that whole conversation?  What a freak, she thought.</p><p>"See?  Aren't you glad you came?" Fred asked, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  How dare he imply that this was at all something that she had a say in?</p><p>"I didn't have a <em>choice</em>."  Pansy reminded him, and Fred scoffed and smiled down at her.  Wanker.</p><p>"Admit it.  This is fun."  Fred said, elbowing her lightly.  She batted his arm away and glared up at him, very compelled to hex him.  But again, she kept her cool and merely rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest.</p><p>"Not on your <em>life</em>."  Pansy countered, but even as she said it, she felt a small smile creep onto her face.  Okay fine, <em>maybe </em>this was helping a little bit.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0064"><h2>64. Chapter 64</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was like her reflection was purposely taunting her.  Honestly, Pansy thought that the picture from Bellatrix Lestrange’s escape looked more stately and beautiful than what she looked like now.  Messy, shaggy hair, deep eyebags, sunken cheeks… she looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>ill despite being fine… mostly fine… she was at least eating more because she’d forced her appetite back and George seemed oddly intent on making her finish her meals, or at least half of them.  She knew it was nice, but it was still-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  Pansy jumped about a foot in the air as she turned around, eyes wide and stashed the scissors behind her.  She visibly relaxed upon seeing it was Ginny leaning against the doorframe, and not Molly, but it was still startling.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Merlin!  Knock!”  Pansy hissed, and Ginny gave her an odd look and chuckled, straightening up as she pushed her hair out of her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You… </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>said that I didn’t have to knock earlier.”  She reminded her, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She was being rather liberal with what that applied to in Pansy’s opinion, but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically </span>
  </em>
  <span>what she said, so she let it fly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, when I’m in your </span>
  <em>
    <span>room</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  This is the washroom!”  Pansy countered, and Ginny waved her off, a vague look of concern clouding her normally cool features.  Wonderful, because Pansy needed to make the Weasleys </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>more concerned for her well being.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you staring at your reflection with a pair of scissors?  Because this just seems like something I should try and nip in the bud now.”  Ginny sighed, walking into the bathroom so she could stand behind Pansy.  What was she supposed to say?  ‘Oh, I hate everything about myself right now and instead of doing something reckless that I’ll get lectured on by one of you I just want to cut my hair off so I no longer want to set something on fire’?  No.  That made her sound crazy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna cut my hair off.”  She said with a sigh, and this seemed to take Ginny by surprise.  Really?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>That </span>
  </em>
  <span>was surprising.  She was standing with scissors looking in the mirror at herself, what else would she be doing?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Ginny asked, and Pansy rolled her eyes, not wanting to repeat herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s getting too long.”  Pansy said, and Ginny shook her head, clearly not completely behind this idea, not that Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>cared</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  It was her life, if she wanted to cut her hair off she absolutely would be doing that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks fine.”  She insisted, and Ginny shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t stand to look at myself.”  Pansy countered, and Ginny thought about that before letting out a defeated sigh and stepping closer.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, at least let one of us help you.”  Ginny insisted, and Pansy nodded, still holding the scissors out of Ginny’s grasp. No way in Hell or Hades was she about to let Ginerva Weasley cut her hair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.  Go find someone.”  Pansy said, raising her eyebrow, and Ginny’s jaw dropped, clearly a little offended by Pansy’s lack of trust in her skills.  Ginny was talented at many things, Pansy just expected that hair cuts weren’t on that list.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> can’t help you?”  Ginny asked, scoffing as if she was offended, but Pansy knew it was mostly for show.  Ginny was probably more relieved then anything else, hair something easy to mess up and they’d only been friends for the better part of a year, meaning it could and probably </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>end over a bad haircut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re wonderful moral support but I feel like you’re not well suited to be a beautician.”  Pansy insisted, and Ginny rolled her eyes but smirked, shoving her lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanker.”  Ginny said, and Pansy nodded.  Fair assessment, sound logic, she could hardly argue with that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, I know.”  Pansy sighed, and Ginny gave an overdramatic sigh and nodded, like she was giving up something </span>
  <em>
    <span>terribly </span>
  </em>
  <span>important.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”  She said, and the redhead was gone.  A few minutes passed, and Pansy just considered starting herself, but just as she raised the scissors, she heard the door creak open as someone softly rapped on it, revealing Fleur.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ginny said you needed help with something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon ami</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Fleur asked, and Pansy cleared her throat and nodded, a little embarrassed now.  If Ginny hadn’t interrupted she probably would’ve already been done without having to bother </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah.  I wanna cut my hair, but Ginny said I should get someone to help, and while she’s lovely in many ways I just feel like-.”  She earned a small smirk from the French witch, who seemed to know exactly where she was going.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not to cut your hair?”  Fleur asked, and Pansy nodded.  She was right.  Fleur was right on the money.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.”  Pansy said.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then let me assist.”  Fleur said, giving her a bright smile, but Pansy was still on the fence.  She didn’t know how this would turn out.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?”  She asked cautiously, and the french witch nodded and gently pried the scissors from Pansy’s vice grip.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oui</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I cut Gabrielle’s hair when she was younger and it turned out fine.”  Fleur insisted, and that did lessen Pansy’s fear.  Fleur had done this before, it wouldn’t be as much of a disaster as when Daphne had decided to give her a haircut while they were both blackout in fifth year.  She’d had to glamour her hair for the better part of three months until it grew out, and she never fully trusted Daphne with scissors after that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose so…”  Pansy trailed off, and Fleur gave her a reassuring smile and pressed down on her shoulders after summoning a stool.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Assis-toi</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She insisted, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  She couldn’t quite get to that translation.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?”  She asked, and Fleur gave her a slight shake of her head and chuckled, like what Pansy had said was humorous.  It wasn’t, she was just confused by the statement.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sit.”  Fleur translated, and Pansy nodded, looking down at the ground.  How embarrassing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  Yeah.  Alright.”  Pansy mumbled, her cheeks heating up.  That was pretty obvious, she should’ve used her context clues..</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you thinking?”  Fleur asked as she ran her fingers through Pansy’s hair.  Honestly, Pansy didn’t know if it was the Veela thrall or just the fact that she was a bit touch starved but the feeling of Fleur’s fingers running over her scalp was practically otherworldly.  Not in like… the same way as when Hermione did it, it was just really relaxing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know… I feel like I’ve outgrown the pageboy look, you know?”  Pansy admitted, and Fleur gave her a confused look in the mirror as she parted Pansy’s hair.  Pansy was a bit shocked, rare was the day someone found her natural part with no prompting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you do look lovely as is.”  Fleur said, and Pansy snorted, giving the witch a look of confusion in the mirror.  In what world was something this unkempt meant to be ‘lovely’?  She looked like some first year who forgot to get a haircut over the winter holidays.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I look shaggy.”  She said, and Fleur pressed her lips together before letting out a defeated sigh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A bit, but… Hm.  Okay.  Do you trust me?”  Fleur asked, and Pansy really thought.  Well, it wasn’t like she’d given Pansy any reason to not trust her, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>the person who’d tried to talk sense into her during Christmas, and who got her out of being forced to be taught quidditch… she liked to think that made Fleur rather trustworthy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose so…”  Pansy admitted, and she noticed a large grin spread across the other witch’s face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Magnifique</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Close your eyes, and don’t open until I say.”  Fleur insisted, and Pansy couldn’t help but think that this was ill advised.  Draco had played a prank on her fourth year using that line, it ended with her having a handlebar mustache for a full saturday.  And if she was being honest, it didn’t look too bad, but she still didn’t want to repeat that incident. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This seems like it’s a poor decision.”  Pansy mumbled, and Fleur shook her head, leaning it down so she could level more of a gaze to Pansy.  She could see there wasn’t a drop of malice in the other witch’s eyes, which was comforting.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense, I would never purposely mess up someone’s hair.”  She insisted, and Pansy took a deep breath.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”  Pansy sighed, and closed her eyes, allowing Fleur to continue examining her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really do have lovely hair.  Very thick.”  Fleur commented, and Pansy crinkled up her eyebrows.  Interesting compliment.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks… I guess.”  She mumbled, and they were quiet for another long moment before Fleur spoke again.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this your natural color?”  Fleur asked, and Pansy nodded.  As if her parents would’ve <em>ever </em>let her dye her hair.  They didn’t want her to do anything that could lower her ‘asking price’ and apparently being an individual would do that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Daph tried to convince me to dye it with her in fourth year and I declined.  A lot easier to dye blonde hair over black, you know?”  Pansy asked.  She was certain that Fleur would agree with her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Oui</em>.  I dyed mine a while back.”  Fleur admitted, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  The blonde was natural on the other witch, she was sure.  Or else she’d <em>have </em>to ask who colored her hair because it looked astoundingly natural.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Pansy asked<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, just one pink streak.  It was the first time I met Tonks, she and I got a little drunk and she dared me.”  Fleur said with a little chuckle, and Pansy was <em>shocked</em>.  She could not imagine a world where A.) Fleur Delacour and Nymphadora Tonks hung out enough to get drunk together, and B.)  Where Fleur didn’t back down from a dare at all.  It was funny.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you said <em>yes</em>?”  Pansy asked, nearly whipping her head around before she remembered that that could have dire consequences.  She heard a soft chuckle come from the veela as she continued running her fingers through Pansy’s hair.  What was taking so long?  Just cut it already, this was meant to be impulsive!<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  It looked wonderful, but it didn’t stay long because my supervisor wasn’t too keen on it.”  Fleur said, and Pansy nodded.  Okay, that made sense, even if it was stupid and seemed like something that a supervisor shouldn’t care about.  Just do your job, why does it matter how you look?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bummer.”  Pansy commented</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Indeed.”  Fleur returned.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So how much longer?”  Pansy asked, her back starting to hurt from how straight she was sitting in this stool, but she didn’t want to relax and accidentally rest her back on Fleur’s legs, in case the other witch would be uncomfortable with that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be patient, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon ami</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  I want to make sure this looks nice.”  She said with a chuckle,and Pansy guessed that was fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine…”  Pansy sighed, and Fleur was quiet for another moment before clearing her throat to speak again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So does this decision have </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do with the fact that this marks one month since Hermione and the boys left on their mission?”  Fleur asked, and Pansy chewed on her lip as she drummed her fingers on her thighs.  That wasn’t exactly something she wished to talk about, it didn’t seem like something she really </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to address.  Just feed the craving and get over it, right?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... No comment.”  Pansy mumbled, and Fleur let out a sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a yes, then.  Are you worried she’s not going to appreciate how you look upon her return?”  She asked, and Pansy winced.  Why did Fleur have to somehow be <em>so </em>damn observant all the time?<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe not.  Maybe she fell back in love with Weasley and I’m just a second fiddle now.”  Pansy sighed, and Fleur let out a sigh as she snipped off a bit more of Pansy’s hair near the base of her scalp.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I doubt that, <em>mon cherie</em>.  While Ron is perfectly lovely in his own right, she looks at you like her entire world, and that doesn’t just go away.  And perhaps the distance between the two of you only served to make her heart grow fonder.”  Fleur tried, and Pansy shrugged, highly doubting that.  Because why choose someone like <em>her</em> who used to treat people like shit over your best friend?  She’d never fully understand that.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>I mean… maybe.”  Pansy reasoned, and Fleur let out a heavy sigh and dropped a light kiss on the crown on her head, surprising her before she remembered.  Fleur was French.  French people were often affectionate.  It wasn’t weird.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Think what you will, but I don’t think that Hermione ever meant for your parting of ways to be permanent, and while I might not know her well, I’ve noticed that when she puts her mind to things she’s rarely swayed.”  Fleur reasoned, and Pansy knew she was probably right, but there was still that part of her mind that screamed ‘what if’, and it was a fuck of a lot louder then the side with optimism. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Right.”  Pansy sighed, and Fleur cleared her throat, clearly not completely done with her statement.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I-.”  She was interrupted by someone slowly creaking the door open.  Pansy guessed from the sound of boots hitting wood that it was probably Bill, and when she heard the sound of confusion, she knew she was right.  His voice was pretty distinct.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, a letter came for-Oh.  Hey, sorry.”  Bill said, sounding a little confused.  Fair, Pansy thought, it’s not every day you see your fiancee chopping off someone’s hair in the bathroom. <br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Non</em>, it’s quite alright <em>mon coeur</em>, I’m just assisting Pansy with something.  She can read it when it's done, leave it on the sink.”  Fleur insisted, but the eldest Weasley child didn’t seem too sure if he should really leave yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright… you okay, Pans?  Anything I can do?”  Bill asked, and Pansy was a little shocked that he asked.  Out of all the siblings, Bill was the one she’d talked to the least, but it was nice to know that he cared, and that he noticed that something was up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm? Oh, no.  I’m fine, Bill.  But thanks for asking.”  Pansy insisted, and she felt a large hand pat her lightly on the shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool, cool.  Uh… dinner’s in an hour, mom wanted me to remind you two.”  Bill said, and Pansy heard Fleur smack a light kiss to her fiance’s face before she spoke again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve got it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon petit chou</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Fleur insisted, and this made Pansy raise an eyebrow because she was 90% sure that ‘chou’ meant cabbage, which seemed like an odd thing to call the person that you’re going to marry.  But it didn’t seem to phase Bill, who merely chuckled.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right… I love you.”  Bill said.  Sweet, Pansy thought, that they end conversations with that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>I love you too, Bill.”  Fleur said, and Pansy waited until he’d closed the door to ask her burning question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, my french is more than rusty, but did you just call Bill a little cabbage?”  Pansy asked, unable to keep it to herself.  Fleur let out an airy laugh and probably nodded, if Pansy was going to guess.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That I did.”  Fleur said, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…”  She trailed off, and Fleur seemed to understand why she was confused after a moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a common term of endearment in France, Pansy.  I know it sounds odd in the english translation, but I prefer it to calling him ‘baby’ or anything like that.”  She explained, and Pansy grimaced.  Yeah, that made sense.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fair.  Totally fair… cabbage is better than a child, I guess.”  Pansy reasoned, and Fleur seemed to agree.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.”  Fleur responded, and they were quiet again, until Pansy couldn’t bear it.  Who the hell was writing her at the Weasley’s?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whose the letter from?”  Pansy asked, unable to curb her curiosity any more, obviously.  Maybe it was Hermione, confirming that they were alive… or Ron and Harry telling her that something terrible had happened to the woman she loved.  The possibilities were endless and unbearable.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hogwarts.”  Fleur said, and Pansy felt her chest grip with panic.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shit… what if they’re expelling me?”  Pansy asked, and Fleur snorted as she released another layer of Pansy’s hair.  It felt much lighter already.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doubtful, you were a model student for a bit there.”  Fleur said, and Pansy chuckled.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Model </span>
  </em>
  <span>student.  In what fucking world?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>every </span>
  </em>
  <span>model student is high all the time.”  Pansy said with a snort, but Fleur didn’t seem phased.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A little recreation never hurt anyone.”  She reasoned, and Pansy was pleasantly surprised by that response.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.  Never expected that from you.”  Pansy said with an amused chuckle, and the French witch merely sighed as a response, releasing Pansy’s hair.  That must mean she’s done, right?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Expect the unexpected.  Okay, open your eyes.”  Fleur said, and Pansy did and stood up, blinking once in surprise at her reflection.  She hardly recognized herself, which was </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She actually liked how the witch that was staring back at her looked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… wow.”  Pansy breathed, reaching up to run a hand through it, sort of loving how short the distance was.  It wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>terribly </span>
  </em>
  <span>short, sort of like the haircut that Draco had sported in third year, but a bit more on center and a little more soft and feminine.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you like it?”  Fleur asked, and Pansy nodded, still in shock about the fact that it seemed to fit everything so </span>
  <em>
    <span>well</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She no longer looked like some sick hospital patient slowly going mad, and looked closer to her </span>
  <span>old self.  It was nice, she hadn’t seen that level of sleekness on herself in some time.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I do.  How…”  Pansy was at a loss for words, but Fleur seemed to be able to tell what she meant.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A couple enchantments, some normal cutting, worked like a charm.”  Fleur explained, and Pansy nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It compliments my face pretty well.”  She said, chewing on her lip.  Why did she feel like crying?  Because she was grateful?  That really made it sound like she was getting weaker and softer, wow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I took that into account.”  Fleur said, and Pansy turned around, pulling the unexpecting witch into a tight hug, almost letting go when she heard the slight screech of shock, but didn’t when she felt that the other witch was still relaxed in her arms.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Thank you.”  Pansy murmured into the French witches shoulder, and she felt Fleur reach up and return the embrace, rubbing her thumb across the area between Pansy’s shoulder blades.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  You’re very welcome, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mon cheri</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  You’re very welcome.  Now, let's open that letter, shall we?” Fleur asked, patting Pansy’s arm lightly.  Pansy looked over at the letter and felt a lump of concern that she couldn’t swallow forming in her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you smoke with me if it’s an expulsion letter?”  Pansy asked, and the French witch nodded, giving Pansy a reassuring squeeze of her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cross my heart.”  She said, and for a moment she sort of hoped it was an expulsion letter.  Not because she wanted to be expelled, but because Fleur </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be a riot while she was high, and she would pay good money to see that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…”  Pansy said, her hands shaking as she broke the seal and skimmed the letter, letting out a small sigh of relief.  Not expulsion, that was for sure.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…”  Fleur asked, breaking her out of her thoughts, and Pansy traced under the words, letting her eyes follow her fingers for pace.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dear Ms. Parkinson… we are pleased to inform you…</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy’s eyes widened.  Of course, she’d known that there was a large possibility that she would be head girl.  There were only three other Slytherin girls in her </span>
  <span>year, but it was still surprising after everything that had gone wrong last year.  Fleur raised an eyebrow and nudged her, prompting her to continue.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pleased to inform you…” She reminded her, and Pansy swallowed and set down the letter, giving Fleur a half smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m head girl for Slytherin.”  Pansy mumbled, and she saw Fleur’s face light up.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  That’s fantastic!”  Fleur said, nearly clapping her hands together in excitement.  That was a little humorous, Pansy hadn't met someone who truly did that unironically… maybe Lavender Brown but she herself had never witnessed it… maybe she’d ask Parvati if that ever happened… but then again, it wasn’t all that important.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I don’t understand… I would’ve thought they’d pick someone else after the fights…”  Pansy reasoned, and Fleur shrugged, squeezing both of Pansy’s shoulders as she met her eyes in the mirror.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you proved your worth.  Wait… what's that signature?”  She asked, and Pansy squinted and raised an eyebrow.  Well, obviously the dead man wouldn’t be signing letters, but she was surprised that they’d promoted her so fast.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Sincerely… Headmaster Minerva McGonagall</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Well… I guess she’s headmaster now that Dumbledore is gone.”  Pansy said, and Fleur nodded</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that makes sense.  Oh, I’m so happy for you.” She said, squeezing Pansy’s bicep lightly as she led the witch out of the bathroom and down the hall.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah… I wonder if Hermione's the head girl for Gryffindor.”  Pansy said as they made it to the main level.  Fleur jutted her chin towards the table, and they walked over, observing the other mail sitting there.  And sure enough, one letter for Ron, and a letter from someone Pansy didn’t recognize… except for the last name ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>Granger</span>
  </em>
  <span>’  she supposed that was probably Hermione’s parents.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well… Looks like there’s a letter here waiting for Ron… and one from Hermione’s parents addressed to Molly.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll open that now.”  She said, briskly taking the letter from Pansy’s fingers and prying it open with practiced ease.  Seven kids, Pansy could assume Molly had plenty of practice with getting letters sent home from Hogwarts… especially with the twins.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s it say?”  Pansy asked, and Molly held up one finger as she scanned the letter before speaking.  Good to have the facts, she supposed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It says that they opened a letter from Hogwarts… Hermione is head girl-.”  Pansy chuckled and nodded, crossing her arms across her chest.  She expected nothing less from Hermione, even if she used to mock the girl’s ethic, she’d slowly come to appreciate it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I expected that, I really think everyone did.”  Pansy murmured, but Molly didn't seem to notice as she continued to scan the letter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And they’re wondering if we heard anything from her, so they could pass on the good news.”  Molly said, and Pansy looked at her in shock.  Surely Hermione had told her parents about the mission before she left, </span>
  <em>
    <span>surely </span>
  </em>
  <span>her extremely thorough girlfriend hadn’t told her and then left her own parents out of the loop.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do they not know?”  Pansy asked, and Molly looked at her with a sad sort of smile as she tucked the letter away in the pocket of her apron, still leaving Ron’s unopened on the mantle.  Pansy knew that made sense, it was addressed to him and not to her, but if it were </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> son that was on the road and he got mail, she didn’t think she’d be able to hold herself back from checking it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess not.  How heartbreaking.  Your hair looks lovely, dear.  Did Fleur help you with that?”  Molly asked, reaching up to ruffle through Pansy’s hair, and instead of shoving her away Pansy ducked down a bit to give her a full view.  It wasn’t like she was trying to ruin it, and Pansy had come to trust her enough to do that without wanting to smack her hand away.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Just… needed a change.”  Pansy said, eyes trained on the ground, and the redheaded witch let out a delighted laugh.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you look positively beautiful, dear.  Truly stunning.”  Molly said, and Pansy felt her face heat up a bit.  Compliments from people she respected always made her do that, probably something about how she’d never gotten them from her parents.  At least that was the reasoning that Hermione had given her, and it seemed pretty sound.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Molly.”  Pansy mumbled, straightening up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I know she’ll think so too… when she sees it.”  Molly whispered, clapping a hand on Pansy’s shoulder and rubbing it lightly.  Pansy pulled in a shaky breath and nodded, patting the back of Molly’s hand.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One can hope.”  Pansy sighed, and Molly shook her head, resting her forehead against Pansy’s arm for a moment before patting her shoulder lightly and releasing her.<br/></span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One can know. And I <em>do </em>know.  Just trust me.”  Molly said, and Pansy pressed her lips in a thin line.  She knew she should trust Molly, she’d never lied to her.  But it was so hard when the voice in her brain was screaming all of the things that she never wanted to think about, and they were a lot louder than the motherly witch.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0065"><h2>65. Chapter 65</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N:  Just to clear some things with this chapter up:  I will not really be going into what happened while the trio was on the road as I do not have the words to describe it in a way that I think would do it justice.  I will however, in the sequel, be going into how the PTSD affects specifically Hermione and how she manages that.  Sorry for any disappointment, but I do hope you enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Rare was the times that Pansy could say this in the burrow, but it was actually shaping up to be a pretty relaxing day… at least Pansy thought it would be before someone practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>broke down </span>
  </em>
  <span>hers and Ginny’s bedroom door, luckily it was just Ginny, but still.  Very startling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans!  You have to come downstairs.”  Ginny said, a bit breathless as she swung the door open.  She didn’t want to, what if the twins had set up another prank and were using Ginny like an owl?  Wouldn’t be the first time.  No, nothing could get her out of bed right now, she was too comfortable.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Technically?  I don’t have to do anything, Gin.”  Pansy sighed, flicking to another page in her textbook as she listened to Ginny groan and saw her roll her eyes out of the corner of her vision.  Oh, how fun it could be to annoy her friends.  And it put her in better spirits, and after all… isn’t that what they’d all wanted from her?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  You do.  Come on, or I’ll drag you myself.”  Ginny insisted, and Pansy chuckled and marked the page before closing it, sitting up to give Ginny her full attention.  She did notice that the redhead seemed a bit more impatient than normal, and that was saying something… but she still hadn’t given her reasons.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck, I’ll go deadweight on you.  What’s the urgency about?”  Pansy asked, and Ginny took a shaky breath and ran her fingers through her hair as she spoke.  Shit, maybe it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>something Pansy should be worried about.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… It’s Hermione.”  She said and that's enough to make Pansy stand up.  Give her more details, she might even get out of bed, she thought.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay?”  Pansy asked, feeling her heart in her throat as she waited for Ginny to say more, but it was like the girl was in shock.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They fucking did it.”  Ginny breathed, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  What was this about now?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who did it?”  Pansy prompted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harry… Voldemort.”  Ginny tried, but failed to get the words out.  But it did make for a sort of clever joke that Ginny </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to like.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen to me, Gin.  If Harry James Potter fucked Voldemort that is his own problem and I frankly-.”  Ginny rolled her eyes and slapped the back of her head a bit harder than was warranted in Pansy’s opinion.  Merlin, these people can’t take a </span>
  <em>
    <span>joke</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No you idiot!  Harry killed Voldemort!”  Ginny said, and Pansy’s jaw dropped as the wheels slowly started to turn.  Voldemort is gone… the death eaters lost their leader and probably their power and...</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That means…”  Pansy swallowed, still unable to formulate the full thought, but Ginny seemed to catch on, thank Merlin.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione’s free.”  Ginny reminded her.  Hermione.  Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin </span>
  </em>
  <span>did she hope Hermione was okay, a fight with such a powerful wizard… she probably could’ve died… </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she…”  Pansy couldn’t bear to look at Ginny as she answered, and the moment of suspense was almost too much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alive?  Very much so.”  Ginny said, and Pansy all but leapt out of her bed, nearly falling right back down were it not for Ginny’s arm steadying her.  She had to write to Hermione, apparate to her house… wait she didn’t know where she lived… write to her then, make sure all was well.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well why didn’t you say something sooner?!”  Pansy asked, and Ginny scoffed and rolled her eyes, all earlier shock gone, back to her normal self in a heartbeat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>sorry, I wasn’t the one refusing to go downstairs… what are you looking for?”  Ginny asked as Pansy tore the room apart.  Of course there was none in here, it felt like the universe was trying to stop her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parchment, I have to write her a letter, Gin.”  She insisted, and Ginny shook her head and cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans, that’s really not needed, after all-.”  Pansy pushed right past her.  How dare she try and stop her from communicating with her girlfriend?  If she was alive then what was the problem?  Pansy </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to hear from her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t talk me out of it!”  Pansy protested as they got to the living room, and Ginny rolled her eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that I’m talking you out of it, it’s just-.”  She heard someone clear their throat and glanced around the room.  No one was talking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi.”  Pansy heard someone say, and she sighed and held up one finger, not in a place to have a conversation right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One moment, I-Hermione?”  Pansy asked, stopping in her tracks as she took in her girlfriend’s exhausted, battered form.  But her smile was the same, radiant, loving, and set Pansy’s heart faster.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”  Hermione said, giving her a little half wave.  Pansy wanted to do something, she wanted to move and pull Hermione close and tell her how much she missed her, how much she </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>her.  But it was like she </span>
  <span>was stuck, right there.  Like the twins had cast some kind of sticking curse on her feet, but they were across the room, looking as confused as everyone else so that must not be the case.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…”  Pansy tried, but her words weren’t coming out.  She felt Ginny’s hand softly squeeze her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, Pans… you look like you’re gonna faint.”  Ginny said softly, and she shook her head, not taking her eyes off of where her girlfriend stood, mere feet away.  She wanted to close the distance and take her in her arms but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>couldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Infuriating.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re…”  Pansy tried.  She wanted to say ‘you’re back’ or ‘you’re beautiful’ but she couldn’t formulate words.  She was too shocked.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to come back later?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shook her head.  That was the last thing she wanted, frankly, she didn’t want Hermione out of her sight if she could help it, not until school started.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  She insisted, but Hermione didn’t look convinced as she glanced at the twins, then Fleur and Bill, all of whom shrugged as if to say ‘she’s never been like this before’  which was correct.  She hadn’t.  Hermione had a certain effect on her that no one else ever had.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need me to go?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shook her head again.  Wrong.  All wrong.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.”  She said, and Hermione’s brows furrowed and while it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoyingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>cute when she did that, Pansy wanted it to stop.  Because she didn’t want Hermione to be confused on whether or not she wanted her.  She’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>want her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then what-.”  Pansy finally unfroze from the spot where she was rooted and took the three long strides that were needed before taking her Gryffindor in her arms and pressing a long kiss to her lips.  It was as if all of the melancholy and stress and hurt of the past couple of weeks melted away and all that remained was Hermione and her perfect lips, returning her kiss in equal measure.  When they finally resurfaced, Pansy let out a delighted chuckle as she cupped Hermione’s face, resting their foreheads together as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, my brain caught up to me finally.  I missed you.”  Pansy said, pressing kisses on every bit of skin she could find.  Hermione sighed and pulled her close, halting her efforts.  Not that Pansy was complaining.  It was nice to be held again.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I missed you too, Pans.  Every day.  So much.”  Hermione mumbled into her ear.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your neck…”   Pansy mumbled, running her fingers across the thin line on her girlfriend’s throat, similar to the ones on her.  Meaning it was probably the same one, which made her anger spark.  Merlin, if she ever ran into Bellatrix Lestrange again… the world would have one less bitch in it, that’s for sure.  But Hermione seemed to sense the anger and reached up, cupping her face and making her make eye contact.  And even just that made Pansy relax just a bit, because at least she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing, Pans, really.”  Hermione insisted, but Pansy wasn’t convinced, and she leaned down and pressed a light kiss to the line, ignoring the sigh that came from Hermione’s mouth because this was not the time or the place to address </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, even if they really needed to soon.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re hurt.”  Pansy murmured against her skin, and Hermione gently pulled her head up so they were looking at each other once more.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not anymore, that happened a few weeks ago.”  Hermione said, and Pansy frowned slightly as she continued tracing the spot.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Promise?”  She asked, and Hermione nodded, reaching up to lace her fingers with the moving hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course I promise.”  She responded, and then Pansy couldn’t bring herself to stop staring.  It was like Hermione had managed to become even more beautiful while she was gone, and Pansy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>astounded</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  She never wanted to look away ever again, and if she had her way she wouldn’t.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.  Fair, that was pretty vague of Pansy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How what?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged.  How was she real?  How was she here?  How was she </span>
  <em>
    <span>hers</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do you still look so amazingly perfect after being on the road and away from a shower for weeks?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione’s smile faltered for a moment as she self consciously ran her fingers over her hair.  Shit.  Wrong thing to say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I smell?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shook her head, and she wasn’t lying.  Hermione really didn’t smell bad to her, at least, no worse than the twins did after they practiced Quidditch with Ginny, so she wasn’t thinking it was that bad.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”  Pansy insisted</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Ginny called, and Pansy shot a glare over her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Gin!”  Pansy shot back, and Ginny held up her hands in surrender, looking a little amused as she did.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well </span>
  <em>
    <span>excuse </span>
  </em>
  <span>me for trying to lighten the mood!”  Ginny sighed, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  She should know better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not the time!”  She reminded her, and the other witch shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I miss anything terribly important?”  Hermione asked, bringing Pansy’s focus back.  She shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  I-I mean I’m head girl-.”  She started, and she watched the pride wash over Hermione’s face as she pulled her in for a quick kiss.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so proud of you.”  She murmured against her lips before they separated, making Pansy’s face burn just a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.  But, uh, other than that, nothing really.”  Pansy said, and Hermione reached up and touched Pansy’s hair, looking fascinated.  Oh right.  The haircut.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who did your hair?  It looks…”  Hermione trailed off as she dragged her eyes over Pansy’s frame, causing her to panic for a moment.  What if she noticed that she’d lost weight?  What if she no longer found her attractive?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Odd?”  Pansy offered, and Hermione seemed to snap out of her slight trance as she gave Pansy a smirk that she’d recognize anywhere, one that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>not appropriate for the Weasley’s living room, that was for sure.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was going to say hot, actually?”  She said, and Pansy’s eyebrows shot up.  Hot?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded, still giving her that </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She murmured, and Pansy was at a loss for words because yes, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>the energy, but this was not the time or place to be turned on.  Also, Hermione had just gotten back, she didn’t want her thinking that all she’d missed was sex.  Obviously, she’d missed that closeness but it wasn’t the only thing for her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… Uh… Fleur helped me.”  Pansy said, feeling like a proper mess from the compliment as Hermione ran her fingers through Pansy’s short locks, clearly enthralled with them as she gave Fleur a grateful glance.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She did a </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonderful </span>
  </em>
  <span>job.”  She said, giving the French witch a smile, who returned it and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  You need to tell your parents that you’re home.”  Pansy said, and Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by someone clearing their throat, and she looked over to see Ron and Harry, leaning against a wall.  How had she not noticed them before?   Maybe because she was only looking for one Gryffindor.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, that was our first stop.  Harry and I insisted.”  Ron piped up, and Pansy let out a small sigh of relief.  She couldn’t imagine the Granger’s worry.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, I’m glad.  Also… glad to see the two of you alive.”  Pansy said, and Harry furrowed his brows in confusion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a compliment or…”  She rolled her eyes.  They weren’t this dumb, were they?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you’re wankers.  Are you actually going to make me say it?”  Pansy asked, curling her lip a bit in disgust, but both the boys looked so confused that she realized she’d probably have to take some pity on </span>
  <span>them.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wonderful</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”  Harry asked.  Great.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>missed</span>
  </em>
  <span> you bloody idiots!”  Pansy said through clenched teeth, and she couldn’t miss the blink of surprise from Ron as his ears turned a little pink, or the small smile that spread across Harry’s tired face.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For real?”  Ron asked quietly, and she rolled her eyes and nodded, as much as it pained her to admit it.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes!  While it's lovely to be here, I could tell how empty it was without Ron being at the table, and Harry… despite you nearly poisoning me-.”  Pansy watched as Harry huffed and rolled his eyes, clearly hating being reminded of that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thought we were moving on…”  Harry sighed, and Pansy nodded.  Rather impatient, that boy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>if you let me finish.  Despite that happening… I’ve actually come to sort of enjoy your presence.”  She admitted, and this made Harry’s small smile break into an all out grin, which she knew was something that she was going to pay for.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I’d never guess.  Pansy Parkinson.  You’ve gone soft.”  Harry teased, and she raised an eyebrow and her wand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll hex your dick off.”  She warned, and Harry grimaced and crouched behind Ron, regarding her with a healthy dose of fear.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is </span>
  <em>
    <span>such </span>
  </em>
  <span>a violent threat, Merlin’s beard.”  Harry gasped, and Pansy opened her mouth to say something that would make it </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much </span>
  </em>
  <span>worse, but before she could, Hermione put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and broke her focus.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  You asked about my parents, and I had something to ask you.”  Hermione said, and Pansy nodded, taking Hermione’s hand in her own and kissing the back of it lightly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go for it.”  She said, and Hermione was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath, looking up at her with earnest eyes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They want you over for dinner… they want to meet you officially.”  Hermione said quietly, before looking up at Pansy, clearly worried she’d say no.  She blinked slowly, trying to process that someone’s parents </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to meet her.  It was also a bit surprising that Hermione’s parents didn’t hate her, she’d been a proper wanker to their daughter for many years before this, Pansy couldn’t believe they were willing to look past that.  It was refreshing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… yeah.  Sure.  When?”  Pansy asked, her voice cracking a bit as Hermione rubbed soothingly across her back, clearly noticing how freaked out Pansy was at the moment.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonight?”  Hermione asked.  That was fast.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tonight</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”  Pansy asked, her eyes widening a bit.  Wow.  Okay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  Hermione said, and Pansy swallowed heavily, her throat suddenly woefully dry from nerves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… sure.  Yeah.”  Pansy said, and Hermione let out a sigh of relief and pressed a quick kiss to Pansy’s cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wonderful… you could just come back with me to my parents house… we could both get ready there?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pause.  They could hate me.”  Pansy reminded her, and Hermione patted her thigh lightly as she shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They won’t.”  Hermione assured her, but Pansy wasn’t convinced.   She’d been a wanker before, and she’d never done the whole ‘meet the parents’ thing because she already </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>Draco’s parents going into it, it’d never been any sort of question.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”  She asked, and Hermione shrugged, like it should’ve been obvious.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I love you.”  Hermione said, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow</span>
  </em>
  <span>, did she ever love that answer; it never failed to make her heart race.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I love you too.  Final question.”  Pansy said, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm?”  She asked</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are we together again?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione snorted and nodded, leaning in to press a kiss to Pansy’s cheek.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that even a question?”  Hermione asked, clearly a little amused and yeah, that was fair, they’d kissed upon her return </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermione had invited her to dinner… there shouldn’t have been a doubt in her mind, but it never really hurt to check on these things.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess not.”  Pansy said, unable to keep the small smile off her lips.  Hermione still loved her, there wasn’t anything to fret about.  Hermione nodded and slid her arms over Pansy’s shoulders, linking her hands behind her neck, playing lightly with the short locks there as they stood, as if neither of them could bear taking their eyes off of each other for even a second.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  Because I didn’t want there to be any doubt in your mind that you’re the one for me.”  Hermione murmured, before claiming Pansy’s lips in another kiss, this one more soft, more gentle, like a reminder that this was real, and that she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Pansy was a little happy to finally have a place to wear these slacks and this shirt, she and Daphne had bought them over the summer holidays back in fifth year and she’d never found a time to trot them out, but she did like to think that the plum of the shirt complimented her undertones quite nicely.  Once she was satisfied with how she looked she pushed away from the washroom mirror and made her way back to Hermione’s room, clearing her throat to get the Gryffindors attention.  It worked, and she shivered at the way Hermione’s jaw dropped a bit while taking her in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…?”  Pansy asked, giving Hermione a little turn.  She watched as Hermione licked her lips and set her book aside, shaking her head as she smiled up at her.  That probably meant that she liked it, right?  Pansy would hope so, this outfit had cost 75 Galleons when she’d gotten it, and that was on </span>
  <em>
    <span>sale</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look…”  Hermione trailed off, that same look from the Weasley’s living room back again.  Merlin, they needed to get some time alone, because this was getting to be inappropriate.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stupid?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione scoffed and shook her head, drawing Pansy down to her lap for a moment to kiss her deeply, fingers locking in Pansy’s hair.  She knew she should stop this, it was Hermione’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>house</span>
  </em>
  <span> and her parents were right downstairs but she’d missed the intimacy.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beautiful.  Gorgeous.  Amazing.”  Hermione breathed, punctuating each word with another quick kiss to Pansy’s lips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>Well so do you.”  Pansy responded, and Hermione gave her a full smile and a final kiss, so Pansy couldn’t complain.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, darling.  Ready to head down?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy almost wanted to say no.  She was far too flustered at the moment to meet the parents, but she decided to suck it up, how bad could it be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… I guess so.”  Pansy said, and Hermione grinned up at her as she stood up, effectively pulling Pansy up too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wonderful.  It’ll be okay.  Take my hand.”  Hermione said, holding it out to her.  Pansy took a deep breath and nodded.  If she’d survived the Malfoy Manor, she could do this, no problem.  These people actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>her to be here, to the best of her knowledge at least.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”  Pansy said, and they were at the top of the stairs when Hermione turned to check on her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You good?”  Hermione asked, clearly worried, and Pansy sighed and shrugged. ‘Yeah I’m fine!  I just think your parents are going to want me dead!’  She thought, but decided that wasn’t something she should say.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just nervous.”  Pansy admitted, and Hermione gave her a reassuring smile and pressed a kiss on her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no need to be, come on.”  Hermione said, leading her down the stairs.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right…”  Pansy sighed.  This should be an interesting night, if nothing else.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mum?  Dad?”  Hermione called as she pulled Pansy into the dining room, and the two adults paused, and Pansy could feel Hermione’s father looking at their linked hands.  Was he mad that she was a girl?  Pansy didn’t know if she could take another homophobic parent after the lovely time she’d had at the burrow, it might set her back a few years.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Well don’t the two of you look lovely.  I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself when you came in, and I also didn’t really want to overwhelm you.  I’m Hermione’s mother.”  The woman said, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy could see that, they looked incredibly similar, the other woman just looked a little older.  She put on her best presentation smile, as her mother would’ve called it, and held out her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Granger.  I’m Pansy, Pansy Parkinson.”  Pansy said, hating how her voice came out high and slightly nervous, like it always had when she’d had to talk to Narcissa and Lucius.  But it didn’t seem to bother Hermione’s mother, who merely smiled and nodded, shaking her hand.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh I know, my daughter is quite taken by you… she wrote about you </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>many times last year, it was like I’d already met you.  Although you’re even more beautiful than what she described, if that’s possible.”  She said, and Pansy felt her face heat up as she heard Hermione groan beside her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mum</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, and the other woman gave a small smile and shrugged.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Apparently I’ve embarrassed her, I’ve said too much.” She said, putting a finger to her lips, and Pansy smiled and nodded before walking past her and clearing her throat as she regarded Hermione’s father.  He seemed sensible, Pansy supposed that made sense because he was a teeth healer or whatever Hermione called it.  Dentist?  Yes.  That.  But that didn’t make him any less terrifying.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you must be Hermione’s father, pleasure to meet you.”  Pansy said, straightening up as she gave the man a firm handshake.  His features didn’t change at all as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You as well.  Please girls, sit down.”  He said, gesturing to the table, and Pansy couldn’t help but notice how much Hermione looked like her parents, like she’d manage to snag all their best traits and mix it right up into someone amazing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  She said, and she took the chair beside Hermione, jumping a bit when she felt the other witch place a hand on top of hers on the table.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So Pansy, Hermione mentioned that you’re a prefect for your house, is that right?”  Hermione’s mother asked, and Pansy nodded, feeling a little bit sheepish.  She knew it was okay to be proud, but it still felt stupid </span>
  <span>sometimes.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes ma’am.  I was also made head girl this year.”  Pansy said quietly, and Hermione’s mom only seemed to beam more.  Oh good, that was a good thing to mention, Pansy made note of that as Hermione gently squeezed her hand encouragingly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same as Hermione, that’s quite impressive.  And, remind me…”  Hermione’s mom trailed off, and it was in that moment that Pansy realized just how little they might know about her.  They probably knew about the bullying… and maybe some good things, but other than that, probably not much.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in Slytherin, ma’am.”  She said, almost wishing she hadn’t because the air was tense for a moment.  Did they think she was evil?  Pansy wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, but the tension passed quickly and it was right back to questions.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, right.  And what do you parents do?”  Mrs. Granger asked and Pansy couldn't help herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully they’re in jail by now.”  Pansy mumbled, and she felt Hermione kick her under the table.  What?  It was true.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pansy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  She hissed, and Pansy looked up, judging by the look on Hermione’s parent’s faces, Hermione’s response had been justified.  They both looked confused and sort of concerned.  Right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.  Right.  Uh… my dad is in business and my mother… attended to the home.”  Pansy said carefully, and that wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>entirely </span>
  </em>
  <span>wrong, her father worked in </span>
  <em>
    <span>business</span>
  </em>
  <span> and at the Ministry with Lucius Malfoy… even if the business had been being a deatheater.  And her mother had never done anything as far she knew.  Her descriptions were still apparently unexpected, but Hermione’s mother arched her eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You speak like they’re dead.”  Mrs. Granger commented, and Pansy shrugged.  They might as well be.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With all due respect to them, I could care less if they are.  They disowned me earlier this year, and have no true memory of me.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that you mention it… Hermione, didn’t you tell us that?”  Mr. Granger asked, and Hermione swallowed her food and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  It was just a small sentence, so i wasn’t shocked that you didn’t remember.”  She explained, and for a moment, Mr. Granger looked at Pansy with sympathy, which she supposed she’d take to suspicion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m very sorry that happened.”  He said, and Pansy waved them off.  She was way better off without them in her life.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright, they weren’t the best people.”  Pansy said, and Mr. Granger nodded before looking back at his plate.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So I’ve heard.”  He responded, and Pansy almost chuckled at the offended look Mrs. Granger gave her husband.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh so </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>remembered and chose to let me look stupid.  Typical.”  She sighed, and Pansy cleared her throat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This food is lovely, Mrs. Granger.”  She said, and Mrs. Granger smiled at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank you.  Just something I quickly threw together.” The woman said, and Pansy shrugged, taking another bite.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I love it.”  Pansy insisted, and she really meant it.  It wasn’t the same as Molly’s cooking, but still better than her own mother could make.  The rest of the meal passed with nothing really eventful, and Pansy was about to offer to help clean up, when Mr. Granger clapped a hand on her shoulder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pansy.  Come sit in the den with me.”  Pansy froze and her eyes widened as he made his way over.  She gave Hermione a look, but the other witch didn’t seem too worried.  Okay.  So maybe she was freaking out over nothing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll wait on the stairs for you.”  Hermione whispered, squeezing her shoulder lightly, and she took a deep breath and nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”  Pansy said, and gave her a quick kiss before making her way over.  Mr. Granger gestured to the seat across from him, and Pansy slowly lowered herself.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have a seat.  You’re not old enough to drink, right?”  He asked, and Pansy almost choked.  She really hoped he couldn’t pick up on any smells that might have clung to her skin from the session she, Fred and George had had before she’d left.  That would be embarrassing.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No sir, I’m still 17, in Hermione’s year.”  She said, praying that he didn’t notice how nervous she sounded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, I know.  But I still wanted to check.”  Mr. Granger explained, and she relaxed.  In the clear, good.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely.”  She responded, and Mr. Granger took a deep breath before speaking.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… I obviously wasn’t really expecting my daughter to bring home a girl, after all, she dated that Ronald boy before you, and then really nobody else.  But that doesn’t mean that I disapprove.”  He insisted, and Pansy felt relief immediately.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, sir.”  Pansy said, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders.  Okay, so her gender wasn’t why he’d seemed so tense at dinner, that was a good thing, she thought.  His face turned serious again as he folded his hands across his knee.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are your intentions with my daughter, Ms. Parkinson.”  He said, and Pansy squirmed a bit at being called that.  She’d never liked when people made her last name formal, it made her feel like her mother.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I love your daughter very much, and I just want to give her my heart for as long as she’ll have me.”  Pansy said evenly, and her eyed her with suspicion </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You won’t hurt her?”  Mr. Granger asked, and Pansy almost had to laugh.  Who would date someone just to hurt them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in my plans, no.”  She insisted, and Mr. Granger seemed genuinely relieved from this.  Did she seem like she wanted to hurt Hermione?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good, that’s very good.  Because I haven’t forgotten the </span>
  <em>
    <span>first </span>
  </em>
  <span>time Hermione wrote home about you.”  He said sternly, and Pansy’s face fell.  Of course he didn’t.  Fuck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”  Pansy’s heart sunk.  This was going to be a bad story, she could tell by how Hermione’s dad nodded.  She raked her brain for their first interaction, but it was nowhere to be found.  She couldn’t imagine a world where it had been at all pleasant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was her first year.  She wrote home wanting to leave because this girl and boy in Slytherin wouldn’t leave her alone about being a muggleborn student.  Now, I didn’t know what muggleborn meant, but I knew I didn’t like it one bit.”  He said, and Pansy shrunk back a bit before straightening up.  She did not want to appear as a coward right now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve changed, sir.”  She insisted, and he nodded.  His expression didn’t change, but the air did feel a bit lighter, which Pansy would take to mean that he believed her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.  That’s very important to me, I don’t want my daughter dating someone who isn’t good for her, you understand.  And on that… When did you realize you liked my Hermione?  She was still writing home about you bullying her even in her fifth year.”  He said, and Pansy knew that was fair.  It was fair that he was suspicious, it was fair that he was scared.  But it still made her heart wrench when she remembered how badly she’d hurt the woman that she loves.  It was like night and day, how she’d been before versus how she was now and sometimes she was still scared it’d go back to how it was.  But right now, she had to answer the second part of his question, it was only fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s hard to pinpoint an exact time really, Ginny always said that I’d liked her for far longer than I was letting on, but I don’t believe that.   The time that really sticks out to me was potions class this year, we were friends by this point and it was actually the day she’d broken up with Ron, who wasn’t crazy about our friendship and said some </span>
  <em>
    <span>choice </span>
  </em>
  <span>words… that’s not the point, it’s water under the bridge for Ron and I, </span>
  <span>but… I smelt her in my amortentia.” Pansy explained, but this only seemed to puzzle him.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that is…”  Mr. Granger trailed off, and Pansy blinked.  Right.  Muggle parents.  She’d nearly forgotten.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s this potion.  It reveals what you desire most, sort of like a love potion.  It actually has those effects if drunk, which is why I would never drink it.  I was already forced to pretend like I loved someone, it’s not for me.”  She said with a chuckle, but this only seemed to worry Mr. Granger, who gave her a slightly concerned look.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And who was that?”  Mr. Granger asked, and Pansy felt panic in her chest.  Mentioning Draco was a surefire way to make her hated, right?</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather not say.”  Pansy said quietly, and the man raised his eyebrow, clearly intrigued.  Fuck.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enlighten me.  I insist.”  Mr. Granger responded, and Pansy sighed.  Alright, fair.  Totally honesty was fair to expect.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Has Hermione ever told you about Draco Malfoy?”  Pansy asked, and his face was grave as he nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Multiple times.  Very hateful boy.”  Mr. Granger said, and Pansy detected the distaste in his voice, which was fair.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  He is.  Um… he and I were betrothed to each other before I was disowned, actually friends for some time.”  Pansy admitted, and felt weird to be friends with Draco in the past tense.  Even if he was a wanker, he was a wanker who’d been rather important to her before he’d fucked up royally.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  That does explain earlier behavior.”  He reasoned, and Pansy was quick to shake her head.  That was not what she wanted him thinking, he needed to know that she changed out of her own accord and acted out of her own accord, because she didn’t want him thinking she was weak willed.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I own that as something I messed up on, he was not responsible for my personality.”  Pansy insisted, and this seemed to be something that Mr. Granger respected, the fact that Pansy took responsibility for the person that she was.  For the </span>
  <em>
    <span>coward </span>
  </em>
  <span>she’d been back then.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Well.  Pansy, I’m cautious to do this, as you </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>hurt my girl on multiple occasions but… I’ll give you my blessing to date my daughter.”  He sighed, and Pansy blinked.  She hadn’t realized that was something she’d been going after, but okay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.  Thank you sir.”  Pansy said, feeling her cheeks warm.  It was odd to have parents like her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will revoke it if I </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>get a letter home that you hurt her.  She’s the only daughter I’ve got, Pansy.  You understand.”  He said, and Pansy nodded because </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>she understood.  She was dating the best girl at Hogwarts, of course her parents were protective of her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do.  And she’s… wonderful.  I can see why you’re protective.”  Pansy said, and she meant that.  This seemed to soften Mr. Granger a bit, and he even let himself smile for a moment as he spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I see that you really love her.  That this isn’t some joke to you.”  He said softly, and Pansy nodded.  Damn right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, it's not.”  Pansy said firmly, because she meant it.  She was in this with her </span>
  <em>
    <span>entire </span>
  </em>
  <span>heart, even if it would end up breaking her heart.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I don’t think Molly would’ve let you stay with her for as long as she has if you aren’t a better person.”  Mr. Granger reasoned, and Pansy nodded.  That was a good barometer for if she was shit or not.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d think so as well.”  Pansy said, wincing when she remembered Christmas.  How mad Molly had been and how easily she’d wanted to cut Pansy off.  That was part of the reason why she realized that the change needed to be for herself, not just for Hermione, or it would never stick.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That brings up another question.  Are you permanently residing with the Weasleys or do you have another home?”  He asked, and she shook her head.  Oh, Pansy couldn’t imagine a world where she unconvinced the Weasley’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>much, no matter how much Molly offered and Ginny insisted she was fine sharing her room.  Never would that </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>happen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got a flat that I’m actually touring tomorrow, and if I like it, I’ll be moving in there.”  Pansy said, and this seemed to please Mr. Granger.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where is that located?”  He asked</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Knockturn Alley.”  Pansy responded, and Mr. Granger raised his eyebrow.  Right.  He probably didn’t know that side of Diagon.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a part of Diagon Alley, I’ve never heard of it?”  He asked, and Pansy nodded, crossing one leg over the other.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, it is.  People think it’s shady, but I’ve always felt safe there.”  She explained, and this seemed to worry him as he shifted around in his seat.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it somewhere that I can trust my daughter going?  She won’t get hurt if she goes to visit you?”  He asked, and Pansy shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If anyone were to try and hurt Hermione they’d have to go through me.”  She insisted, and Hermione’s father seemed to be content with that as he leaned back in his chair, seeming to relax just a bit.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good answer.  Well.  I should let you get back to her, lord knows that the two of you should catch up after she’s been gone for so long.”  Mr. Granger insisted, and they both stood up, Pansy giving him one last firm handshake.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, sir.”  She said, and turned away, taking a deep breath as she walked, accidentally closing her eyes </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>as she ran into Mrs. Granger, who luckily, wasn’t upset by that happening.  Thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!  Excuse me, dear.”  Hermione’s mother laughed, and Pansy reached out to steady her and take the stack of plates.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was entirely my fault, let me help you with that.”  She insisted, and for a moment Pansy thought that she wasn’t going to let her, and then she was holding a stack of plates and following behind her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope my husband wasn’t too hard on you?”  Hermione’s mother called back, and Pansy shook her head.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>No, he asked questions that were completely fair.  And I don’t mind people questioning my character, I’ve done questionable things before this year.  But I am not that person anymore, I wouldn’t even recognize her if I passed her in the street.”  Pansy admitted, and she meant that.  She’d started that year so full of hate and sadness and hurt that she wasn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>close </span>
  </em>
  <span>to the same person now.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s good.”  Hermione’s mom commented as they stacked the dishes on the counter before turning to each other, both clearly wanting to give the other more of their full attention.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think so as well.”  Pansy said, and she meant that.  She was happier now then she’d ever been when she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>person.  But as she broke from her thoughts, she realized that Hermione’s mother was looking at her with some curiosity.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“You really are quite a looker, Hermione wasn’t lying about that.”  Mrs. Granger said, and Pansy felt her cheeks flush again as she tried to fight down the smile on her face.  Merlin, she had to work on her responses to compliments from adult women who weren’t her mother, she was far too prone to being affected by them.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, ma’am.”  Pansy said quietly, and for a moment her face became serious.  Wow.  That’s where Hermione’s stern look was from, okay.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I know why my husband is worried, I also didn’t forget the person that you were… but I hope that the person you are and the person you were are different.”  She said, and Pansy nodded.  Exactly right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They are.”  She insisted, and that seemed to satisfy the woman, who leaned back a bit as she spoke.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s all I need to know.  Hermione’s damn near grown, I don’t have much of a say over what she does anymore, or who she does it with.”  Mrs. Granger said, and Pansy guessed that was good, but she still had one last question.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t bother you that I’m a girl?”  Pansy asked, genuinely curious, and the woman raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why should it?  You love her, right?”  She asked, and a smile made its way across Pansy’s face before she could even think that hard.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.”  Pansy said, and this seemed to be enough.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s all that matters to me.  Love her, treat her right, and I think I’ll like you just fine.”  She said, patting the back of Pansy’s hand lightly.  It was nice, having that little bit of confidence that maybe Hermione’s parents </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>hate her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Mrs. Granger.”  Pansy said quietly, and the other woman nodded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go on now, I know she’s missed you.” She said, jutting her chin towards the staircase, and Pansy nodded and took the nonverbal que to make her way over.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi.”  She sighed as she took the spot beside Hermione.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.  What did my dad want?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shrugged, not wanting to get into it all.  Hermione might think it not needed, but Pansy was actually quite glad that she and Hermione’s father had gotten everything out and on the table, it made for more of a healthy relationship for the two of them, and that was what mattered.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He wanted to make sure that I had your best interests at heart.”  She said, and technically that wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>incorrect</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so she didn’t go on from there.  Hermione sighed and gave her an apologetic look, even though it was completely not warranted.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry about him-.”  She started, and Pansy shook her head.  There was not a single thing to be sorry for in her opinion.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be.  Every question he asked me was completely fair.”  Pansy insisted, but Hermione didn’t look convinced</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but-.”  She started, and Pansy held up a hand to quiet her.  This wasn’t something she thought was unneeded.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Mione.  I was a shit person.  More importantly, I was a shit person to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and trust is earned, not given.  Even if it takes my whole life, I will work to gain your father’s trust.”  Pansy said softly, and Hermione’s face grew fonder.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, I love you.”  Hermione murmured, the soft look in her eyes enough to take Pansy’s breath away.  This was her love, this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>girl, and she was back… and she was free.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.”  Pansy responded, and let Hermione draw her in for a long kiss, losing track of where she was when Hermione’s hand came up to cup her cheek, drawing her closer.  Honestly, in that moment she was no longer sure if time was real because everything seemed so fast and yet </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>slow and she’d never have it any way else.  She couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes when they separated, scared of breaking the spell.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to walk you out?  You’re apparating back to the Weasley’s for the night, right?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy blinked for a moment, her mind slowly coming back to her as nodded.  Right.  Home.  Weasley’s.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not </span>
  </em>
  <span>hooking up with her girlfriend in her girlfriend’s parent’s house, no matter </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>desperate she was because she had to make a good impression.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah I am, and that would be lovely.”  Pansy said, surprised by how low her voice came out.  Was she getting sick?  Probably not, probably just because she’d been… </span>
  <em>
    <span>busy </span>
  </em>
  <span>and her voice was the last of her concerns.  Hermione stood up and extended a hand out to her, leading her towards the front door and pausing there.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mum!  Dad!  I’m walking Pansy out.”  She called, but didn’t wait for her parents to respond before pulling Pansy out into the street and into another kiss, this one a little more desperate, a little more teeth and tongue and mess and </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pansy had been craving before it was over, and she was holding Hermione close, breathing in her perfume.  It never changed, she should know.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so happy you’re back.”  Pansy mumbled, and Hermione sighed and pulled back, hopping on her toes to press a kiss to Pansy’s forehead.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Happy to be back, believe me.”  Hermione said, and Pansy cleared her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For a bit there I thought…”  She trailed off.  How do you tell the girl you love that you thought she was going to dump you?  Pansy needed direction on that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thought what?”  Hermione prompted, and Pansy looked away.  She could </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>make eye contact while saying this.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That maybe you weren’t going to want me back?”  Pansy asked quietly, and Hermione gave her a funny look and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I wanted you back.  I didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to break up with you to begin with, you know that, right?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy let out a sigh.  Obviously she’d had a pretty good idea, but there was no such thing as being too sure.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Of course I do, it's just…”  She trailed off, and Hermione cupped her cheek, prompting her to look down at her.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That you’re scared?”  Hermione asked softly, and she sighed and nodded, knowing how stupid that might sound.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  Pansy breathed, a little embarrassed, but Hermione’s response did help.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, love.  I was scared too.”  Hermione said, and Pansy let out a small sigh as she pressed another kiss to Hermione’s lips.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… I’ll see in September?”  She asked, and Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes, planting a harsher kiss on Pansy’s lips before responding.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As if.  The second you sign on that apartment I’m coming over, we need some privacy as soon as we can get it.”  Hermione said, raising her eyebrow on the word ‘privacy’.  Pansy bit her lip to keep down a smile.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”  She asked, and Hermione nodded quickly, almost too quickly.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”  Hermione breathed, and Pansy cleared her throat, again uncomfortably turned on.  Fuck, Hermione was good at that.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No complaints here.”  Pansy said, and for a moment neither of them spoke.  How much would her parents </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>notice if Pansy whisked her away?  Probably a lot, right?  Right.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I thought.  Now get home, Molly’s probably starting to worry.” Hermione commented, and Pansy groaned.  She didn’t want to leave.  She didn’t want to be alone again… as alone as she could be in a house with so many people.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.”  Pansy sighed, and she was quite grateful that the last thing she saw before apparating was Hermione’s calm, smiling face.  Something she had to get a picture of sometime, because it only made her fall further in love, if that was possible.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0066"><h2>66. Chapter 66</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Diagon Alley was so hot in July, that was probably Pansy’s least favorite part about it.  She almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>got a headache and a sunburn and there was never anything interesting about it.  Except for today, because somehow she was stuck walking with Daphne to get a tattoo because Luna had convinced her that she should have one to cover her worst scar from the torture and yeah, partially because she’d always wanted one.  But it was an awkward walk, because Daphne was quiet and </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to say something that she was refusing to admit.  Pansy was moments from snapping at her to spit it out when Daphne sighed and looked over at her, probably signifying that she was ready to talk.  Fucking finally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I know it's sappy and I know you hate it when I say shit like this… but I’m so happy that you’re healthier.  I was so worried.”  Daphne admitted, and instead of her normal sarcasm, Pansy merely smiled over and squeezed Daphne’s shoulder lightly.  She knew Daphne actually needed reassurance in this moment, even if it wasn’t what she was known for.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, Daph.  I know.  Thanks for coming with me by the way, for the tattoo.”  Pansy said, and Daphne nodded, sighing as she flicked her sunglasses down over her eyes and linked their arms back together.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Course.  Are we still meeting Tracey for drinks after?”  Daphne asked, and Pansy nodded.  That had been their plan since the beginning, when would it have changed?  They’d decided on that since Tracey couldn’t join the group earlier.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I wouldn’t bail on you guys.”  Pansy assured her, and Daphne raised an eyebrow.  Oh, here we go, Pansy thought.  She knew that look only ever brought trouble.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I would if I possibly had a hot Gryffindor waiting in my bed.”  Daphne said, giving her a smirk, and Pansy shoved her and leveled a glare at her friend.  She knew Daph was kidding and so </span>
  <em>
    <span>woefully </span>
  </em>
  <span>in love with Tracey but… </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, she’s not coming over until 7:00.  Two, call my girlfriend hot one more time and I swear I will shave your eyebrows off in your sleep when we get back to school, do you understand me?”  Pansy asked through gritted teeth, and Daphne blinked and took a step away from her, clearly surprised.  She shouldn’t be, Pansy thought she’d been </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>clear about how she felt about Daphne hitting on her girlfriend.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin!  It was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>joke</span>
  </em>
  <span>!  But I applaud the threat, it was both terrifying and would be extremely inconvenient for me.”  Daphne said, and Pansy nodded.  She would never dream of a regular threat, they’d gotten too boring.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, I like being original.”  Pansy reminded her, and they walked in silence for a few moments before Daphne made a noise of recognition and pulled her to a stop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we’re here.”  She said, and Pansy swallowed on a dry throat.  Was she 100% sure about this?  Yes.  Was she also </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrified</span>
  </em>
  <span> that it would come out bad and then have something stupid on her body for the rest of her life?  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Absolutely</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I’m nervous.”  Pansy admitted, and Daphne’s brows crinkled in confusion as she laid a comforting hand on Pansy’s back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?  You asked Luna, it doesn’t hurt.  They’re nothing like muggle tattoos, remember?”  Daphne said gently, and Pansy sighed and nodded.  She wasn’t scared of the pain, not at all, that wasn’t the problem.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I know, but what if Hermione doesn’t like it?”  She asked, and Daphne let out a scoff and shook her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’ll love it.  The things that girl finds sexy about you are <em>questionable </em>at best to begin with, so if she doesn’t jump your bones for getting a tattoo, I’ll have to have a conversation with her about how too much academics is affecting her brain function.”  Daphne assured her, her voice only sounding half joking.  Pansy sighed and rolled her eyes, but it did make her smile, the thought of Daphne actually telling Hermione to stop learning because it was affecting her ability to be horny.  Pansy would pay money to see the results of that conversation, no doubt Daphne would probably have antlers for a week or something.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re such a bitch.”  She chuckled, and Daphne nodded, clearly proud of that fact.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I know.  Now come on.” Daphne insisted, yanking the door open and all but dragging Pansy inside.  At first, the shop seemed empty, until a man popped up from behind the counter, startling them both.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to Markus Scarrs… you two look awfully young, you sure you’re 18?”  He asked, and Daphne shrugged, taking the lead.  Good, she was often more charming to men than Pansy was, meaning less likely they’d get thrown out on their asses with nothing to show for it.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“According to some of our documents we are.”  Daphne said, and the shop owner raised his eyebrow.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are they the ones you’ve got today?”  He asked, and she glanced back at Pansy, who nodded slightly.  She always brought a fake with her for moments just like this, even if it was easy to tell it was fake.  Not a lot of shops in Knockturn seemed to care about underaged <em>anything</em> which was quite refreshing.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes they are.”  Daphne insisted, and the shop owner smiled and leaned back a bit, seeming more relaxed.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, in that case, I do welcome you to Markus Scarrs.  Are both of you lovely ladies getting work done today?”  He asked, and Daphne was quick to shake her head and take a little step away from where Pansy was standing.  Bitch.  Where was the support?<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, just my friend here.  I’m here for moral support.”  She explained.  Oh yes, such <em>good </em>moral support taking a <em>full </em>step away from the person you’re meant to be supporting.  But the shop owner seemed touched, so she supposed that that was what mattered.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, isn’t that awfully kind.  Have a seat, I’ll be with you in a moment.” He said, and Pansy let out a shaky breath as she settled in the chair, drumming her fingers against her thighs as she sat.  Or at least she tried to, but Daphne took her hand and lightly squeezed it.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.”  Pansy murmured.  It took a few moments until he came back with his wand and raised an eyebrow.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… what are we thinking?  And where?”  He asked, and Pansy took a deep breath as she raised her shirt, wincing when she saw Daphne’s face drop at how the scar had healed.  She hadn’t really shown it to her since the attack.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right here, across my stomach… and I was thinking something like a lion, it’s for my girlfriend.”  She explained, and he raised his eyebrow.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your girlfriend’s a fan of lions?”  He asked, sounding a little confused, and Pansy shook her head, looking up at the ceiling.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could say <em>I’m </em>more of a fan of lions… she’s a Gryffindor.”  Pansy explained, and she heard Daphne fake a gag beside her and reached over to swat her leg.  She didn’t need to be a bitch about it, Pansy was allowed to love her girlfriend.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, alright.  That makes sense… I’m sure I could figure something out.”  He said, and Pansy gave him a tight smile as she continued to hold her shirt up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.”  She said, and she saw the shop owner grimace when he got a closer look at where she wanted the tattoo.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nasty looking gash… where’d you get that from?”  He asked, and Pansy sighed and closed her eyes, really not wanting to tell this story right now.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bellatrix Lestrange gave it to me back in June.”  Pansy mumbled, and the man raised his eyebrow and cocked his head, seeming intrigued.  Exactly why she <em>hadn’t </em>wanted to get into it.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No shit?”  He asked, and Pansy nodded, clenching her jaw.  Couldn’t they just get the tattoo done and get over it.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup.”  She sighed, and he seemed a bit impressed as he twirled his wand.  Maybe she wasn’t supposed to make it out alive.  She wouldn’t be shocked.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, hats off to you for making it out alive.  I hear she’s in Azkaban now.”  He said casually, and Pansy raised her head a bit to look at him.  That was what she’d been hoping to hear.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you happen to know who else got taken in?  Just off hand?”  Pansy asked, hoping against hope that Draco actually was being held accountable for the crimes that he committed, even if it wasn’t likely.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh… Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, the Carrows, Severus Snape, the Parkinsons, The Notts, The Goyles and the Crabbes to name a few.”  He said, and Pansy’s heart practically dropped into her stomach.  Of <em>course </em>he didn’t have to deal with the things he’d done, the little fucking weasel.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any news on if… Draco Malfoy got arrested?”  She asked quietly and he shook his head and frowned.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope, hear they let him off under extreme supervision.  Something about him being a kid, getting his education.”  He explained, and Pansy rolled her eyes and sighed.  Typical.  Typical that nothing would happen to him.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course he got off, bloody wanker.”  Pansy sighed, and she felt Daphne lightly squeeze her hand to calm her down.  The shopowner chuckled and nodded, like <em>any </em>of this was fucking amusing.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll take it you’re not his biggest fan, then?”  He asked, and Pansy shook her head and looked up at the ceiling.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.  I’m not.  Not exactly keen on someone who could’ve gotten my girlfriend killed.”  She muttered, and he nodded.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I suppose that’s perfectly fair.  Alright, now this isn’t going to hurt, but it’ll be numb for a couple of hours, two at the most.  Any more than that you go to a healer right away, do you understand me?”  He asked, and Pansy straightened a bit and nodded, swallowing heavily.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes sir, I do.”  Pansy said.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.  Close your eyes.”  He instructed, and the second she did and she felt his hands on her stomach she gripped harder onto Daphne’s hand, causing her to cry out as she tried to move away to no avail.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“<em>Why </em>are you squeezing the life out of my hand?!  He said it doesn’t even hurt!”  Daphne gasped, trying to pry her fingers off.  The shop owner chuckled as he cleaned the skin quickly.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The anticipation is a lot for some people, she’ll be okay in a second.”  He insisted, but that didn’t seem to help.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about <em>less </em>then a second, <em>I’m </em>going numb now.”  Daphne gritted, and the shop owner sighed and pulled back.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, and you’re done.  Have a look.”  He said, and she stood up and looked in the mirror, gasping at the detail.  It was fantastic, and she couldn’t help but wonder how that worked, transfiguring an image onto skin <em>so </em>perfectly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s brilliant.  Thank you.  How much?”  She asked, and the shop owner shrugged.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“50.”  He said.  Wow.  That seemed pretty cheap, far too cheap for what Pansy thought he deserved.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here, take what's in here.”  Pansy said, tossing him a bag full of coins.  He raised an eyebrow as he looked inside, clearly a little shocked.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… this is at least 200 Galleons?”  He asked, and Pansy nodded.  Yeah, that seemed like a </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>better price to her, especially for what he’d done.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, you did a great job.”  Pansy said, and he still looked unsure.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re tipping me… this much?”  He asked, and Pansy nodded.  Why was that so hard to believe?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, why not?  You earned it.”  She insisted, and with that, he no longer fought it.  Good, because Pansy had no intention of taking it back.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, thank you.  Come back any time.”  He said, tucking the money away, and Pansy nodded before looking back to the mirror.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Believe me, I will.”  She said quietly, and examined the tattoo more.  It looked amazing and </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah </span>
  </em>
  <span>it truly was numb, which felt so weird.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>fantastic, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Pans.  Seriously.  Hermione is gonna love it.”  Daphne assured her, squeezing her shoulder and Pansy sighed and nodded, dropping her shirt as she did, slinging an arm around Daphne’s shoulders.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let's hope so, because it's permanent.  Not like I’ll be taking it off any time soon.”  She joked.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or ever.”  Daphne reminded her, and Pansy nodded.  Or ever.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  So where for drinks?”  Pansy asked, and Daphne shrugged and jutted her chin forward.  Yeah, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was specific, Greengrass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leaky Cauldron.  She’s probably already there.”  Daphne theorized, and Pansy nodded.  Tracey <em>was </em>rather punctual.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’d better hurry then, huh?”  She asked, and Daphne snorted and gave her a knowing look as they turned the corner towards the Leaky Cauldron.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t the one who took forever because she was afraid of a tattoo that <em>numbs</em>.” Daphne countered as they entered the pub.  Oh, how Pansy <em>seriously </em>wanted to hex her right now, even if they were in public.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.”  She snapped as they approached the table, prompting Tracey to stand and give them both a look.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you two fighting?  Seriously?”  Tracey asked with a sigh, and Pansy gave her a quick hug and a reassuring smile.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We aren’t <em>fighting</em> Trace, this is just how we show that we love each other.”  Pansy insisted, and to her surprise, Daphne didn’t fight it, she merely nodded.  Really?  Giving up that easy?  How unlike her.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s right.”  Daphne responded, and Pansy was honestly a little shocked.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am?”  Pansy asked, a little surprised, and Daphne nodded, like it should've been obvious.  It <em>wasn’t</em>.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.” Daphne said, and Pansy shrugged.  Alright, she’d take what she could get, she supposed.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, anyway, I got you two firewhiskey.”  Tracey said as they settled down, and Pansy shot a smile across the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, if Daph doesn’t marry you, I will.”  Pansy said, taking a sip from her drink as Daphne gave her a dangerous glare, wrapping an arm tightly around Tracey’s waist as she did.  Okay, so that joke was a good response to Daphne calling her girlfriend hot, Pansy would have to remember that next time.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Back off, Parkinson.  It’s in my future plans.”  Daphne insisted, and Tracey looked at her with a soft smile.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is?”  She asked softly, and Pansy watched as Daphne’s face reddened significantly, eyes trained on the table.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…”  Daphne stuttered, and Pansy chuckled, shaking her head.  Oh, how fun it was to be on the teasing side of this for once.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, this is a fun amount of tension.”  She murmured, and Daphne glared across the table at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You suck.”  Daphne said, her voice deadpan, and Pansy was about to respond when Tracey stretched, unsettling her collar and Pansy’s jaw </span>
  <em>
    <span>dropped</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  Oh, this gave her </span>
  <em>
    <span>so many </span>
  </em>
  <span>different options for responses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Clearly I’m not the <em>only </em>one who does… <em>Merlin</em>, Trace.  I can give you a good recommendation for concealer, if you want… since the two of you are finally doing… <em>that</em>.”  Pansy said, making sure to keep her voice low and steady, not wanting to spook Tracey.  That was apparently in vain, because the other witch gasped and smacked Daphne’s arm lightly.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said you only went for under the collar!”  Tracey hissed, clapping her hand over the mark.  Honestly, it was a little funny seeing how quickly her friend could flush, but she also <em>totally </em>understood Tracey’s mortification right now.  It was exactly how she’d felt that first time after she and Hermione had been together and someone saw a mark.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought I did!”  Daphne insisted, but that didn’t seem sincere, at least not to Pansy.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My dad is gonna <em>kill </em>me.”  Tracey groaned, and Pansy reached over, patting her hand reassuringly.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just use <em>episkey</em>.  It works.”  Pansy commented, knocking back the rest of her drink as Tracey eyed her with some suspicion, clearly wary of using a charm on herself if she didn’t have complete certainty that it would work.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tried it?”  Tracey asked, and Pansy nodded.  Hermione had developed <em>quite </em>a liking for her throat over the last couple of months, and a girl can only wear so much concealer before it starts to look unnatural.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah.  Works <em>so </em>much better than the banana peel trick.  Shocked you never tried it when Zabini was attached to your neck, Greengrass.”  Pansy said, and she meant that.  It would’ve saved a <em>lot </em>of time.  And a lot of banana peels.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well <em>excuse me </em>if it never occurred to me.”  Daphne said, and Pansy snorted and rolled her eyes.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course it didn’t.”  She mumbled, and Tracey clapped her hands together to get their attention.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So!  When’s Hermione coming to see your flat?”  Tracey asked, clearly wanting the attention off of her neck and <em>any </em>activity she and Daphne were or were not doing.  But judging by the lovesick look on Daphne’s look they for sure <em>were</em> intimate now, and Pansy was happy for them… and <em>perfectly </em>content never hearing the details.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seven.  I’m excited, I’ve missed her.”  Pansy admitted, and Daphne rolled her eyes.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t you <em>just </em>see her?” Daphne asked, and Pansy nodded.  Was it <em>not </em>normal to miss her girlfriend?<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  After a <em>month </em>of her missing, cut me some slack.”  Pansy reminded them, but of course, that did dick all to shut them up.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re whipped.”  Daphne said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are <em>so </em>not one to talk.”  Pansy muttered, and Daphne glared at her, crossing her arms across her chest.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am not whipped.”  She snapped, and Pansy shook her head.  Oh, she could not <em>get </em>less self aware if she <em>tried</em>.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.  You are.”  Pansy said with a snort and Daphne rolled her eyes, looking at Tracey for support.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s right, love.”  Tracey said, and she returned Pansy’s grin as Daphne’s face fell into a scowl.  <em>Completely </em>worth it.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you both.”  Daphne snapped, and Pansy raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tracey who gave her a pleading look.  That was not enough to shut her up, she should know that by now.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Personally? I’ll pass.”  Pansy said, and she saw both of her friends grimace and shake their heads.  Well, that was on them, Pansy thought, after all, they’d walked right into it… what was she supposed to do?  Ignore it?  Never.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin!  Why did we agree to get drinks with you?”  She asked, and Pansy shrugged,<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because I brighten your day.”  Pansy said, and Daphne shook her head, setting her drink back down as she folded her hands to rest her head on.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only if the day is <em>pitch </em>black.”  Daphne countered, and Pansy feigned hurt as she gripped her over her heart dramatically, splaying a hand across her forehead.<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mean.  I’m hurt.”  She insisted, and Daphne snorted into her drink as she rolled her eyes.  And wasn’t it strange that something as simple as that made Pansy feel like she was home?</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>“Wow, it's… cozy.”  Hermione said as she closed the door of the flat behind her, and Pansy wasn’t sure if that was a slight.  She quite liked how she’d set up her place, with soft lights and pictures of her and Hermione and her friends on the walls.  It made her feel safe, and it made it all feel very homelike to her.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know it's not much, it's just nice to have something that’s mine.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione nodded as she continued to look around.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who helped you decorate?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy sighed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Daphne, Ginny, Fleur and Luna.”  She explained, and Hermione raised her eyebrow, like something out of this didn’t make sense.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not Tracey?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy shook her head.  It was a fair question, and an odd group to leave Davis out of, she knew that.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She wanted to, but she was busy.  Her dad needed her to shop for her stuff for school today, that’s also why Daphne sat with me while I got something done.”  Pansy explained, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by her vague wording, which was done by design.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did you get done?”  She asked, and Pansy gave her a half smile before shrugging, resting her arms over her Gryffindor’s shoulders.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have to guess.”  Pansy murmured, and Hermione raised an eyebrow, giving her a look as she sighed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pans</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out firm.  Never let her have any fun, now did she?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh.  Fine.  I got a tattoo.  But you’ve got to find it yourself.”  Pansy said, sliding her hands down to grab both of Hermione’s, backing up towards her bed until she was seated, and pulled Hermione onto her lap with a smile.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I?”  Hermione asked, seeming intrigued and Pansy nodded.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She mumbled.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, then I’d better start looking, huh?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded, biting back a smile as she did.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d say so, and you know… it always helps to be thorough.”  Pansy said, and Hermione nodded.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh of course, I’ll leave no stone unturned.”  Hermione said solemnly, and Pansy gave her one last smile</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the hope.”  She sighed, and pulled Hermione in again, tasting the sugar and mint of her lips, groaning as Hermione slid her tongue past her lips.  While she was sufficiently distracted, Hermione was quick to push her down against the mattress, and Pansy saw her eyes flash with something.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> you’re gorgeous.”  Hermione said, ducking her face against Pansy’s neck.  That was exactly what she’d been hoping to hear Hermione say</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>You’re one to talk.”  Pansy gasped, eyes trained on the ceiling as she let Hermione leave as many marks as her heart desired across her throat.  Honestly, if this was the rate and the intensity that Hermione wanted to go at… she might not </span>
  <em>
    <span>survive </span>
  </em>
  <span>until she found her tattoo, Merlin knows she was already plenty wound up from a month of not seeing her, every touch </span>
  <em>
    <span>already </span>
  </em>
  <span>felt electric and Hermione had hardly even touched her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?”  She asked, and Pansy pulled in a shaky breath as she nodded,</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.”  She mumbled, but Hermione didn’t seem convinced as she fully sat up, brushing the hair from her face.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?  We don’t have to do this right now if you’re not-.”  Pansy cut her off with a quick kiss to her cheek.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione.  I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  The tension your picking up on is…”  Pansy trailed off, not knowing if she should say it.  Hermione lifted her head and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is?”  She swallowed heavily.  It shouldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad </span>
  </em>
  <span>to say it out loud, she’d done it a million times already, but it was a lot when she was already wound up.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you seriously going to make me say it?”  Pansy asked, resting her head back on the pillow, every nerve in her body practically humming.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”  Hermione said.  Oh.  So </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was what she was trying to do, Pansy supposed she could play along a bit.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>horny, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Granger.  Happy now?”  Pansy asked, her lip trembling, and Hermione sighed and shook her head.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” the other witch admitted, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.  Okay, so what did that mean?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  She asked, and her Gryffindor shrugged.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I should say, not yet.”  Hermione explained, and Pansy let out a sigh of relief as Hermione’s hands began moving again.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Merlin</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy gasped as she felt Hermione’s fingers under the hem of her shirt and she sat them up for a moment to yank the fabric over her head, her bra quickly following as Hermione’s eyes raked up her body.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione sighed, leaning back in to press her lips to as much skin as she could, at least that’s how it felt to Pansy.  But she wasn’t complaining, she was content to spend an entire day being kissed everywhere by Hermione Granger.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you find it yet?”  Pansy asked after a few more torturous moments and Hermione’s movements paused.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No… but that must mean I’m close then, right?”  She asked, and Pansy nodded, chewing on her lip for a moment.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”  She admitted, and Hermione leaned back up and scanned her body with furrowed brow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… Oh.  There it is.”  Hermione said, tracing over the skin of the tattoo, which had gone from numb to </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredibly </span>
  </em>
  <span>sensitive.  Maybe that had something to do with the scar as well, Pansy didn’t know, she wasn’t a healer.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well?”  Pansy asked, feeling a little nervous that Hermione was going to hate it, but she really didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>seem </span>
  </em>
  <span>like she didn’t like it.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a lion.”  Hermione observed.  Wow, Pansy thought, how very articulate of you, Granger.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm…”  She mumbled, and Hermione’s brows furrowed for a moment as she shook her head.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get this… I don’t want to assume, but-.”  Pansy took both of her hands and kissed the back of them as she nodded.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got it for you.  It’s a better reminder of our love than the scars that crazy bitch left on my body, right?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione sniffled and nodded.  Well, that was worrying</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.  Yes.  Absolutely.”  Hermione said, hiccuping slightly.  Pansy knew what that meant, and she wasn’t good with it.  What had she done to make Hermione cry?  Was she upset that she’d done this without consulting her?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hermione… love, you’re crying.”  Pansy said softly, quickly sitting up to take the Gryffindor in her arms tightly, raining soft kisses on every inch of skin she could currently reach.  Hermione let out a chuckle and pulled back a bit, giving Pansy a watery smile as she traced down her face with the tip of her finger.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m… it’s not bad.  It’s good, I promise.”  Hermione said, her tears causing her to tumble over her words.  Pansy looked at her with concern as she reached up to brush the tears away as fast as they would come.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But why are you…”  Hermione pressed a soft kiss to her lips before speaking again.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just really sweet.  That you want something that’ll remind me of you forever.”  Hermione admitted, wiping under her eyes as she did.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I plan on having a lot more than that to remind me of you.”  Pansy reminded her, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  She </span>
  <em>
    <span>planned </span>
  </em>
  <span>on having the real thing to remind her, even if it was a little soon to say that.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t give you that promise ring for no reason, remember?”  She said softly, and Hermione looked down at the ring, a small smile on her face.  Good.  Pansy had always hoped that it made her do that.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you, Pansy Parkinson.”  Hermione said, her smile growing larger, and Pansy nodded.  It was sweet, but she needed more right now.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.  But I’m… If we wait much longer I feel like I’ll simply explode.”  Pansy admitted, and Hermione let out a tiny sound that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>for sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>a moan, but still faked a stern look down at Pansy.  For what?  What did she do?!</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, there goes a sweet moment.”  Hermione sighed, running a hand through her hair.  Honestly, Pansy loved how she looked like this, something about it was just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>powerful </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the sexiest way possible.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, like you’re not feeling the same way.”  Pansy said, rolling her eyes and Hermione smirked down at her and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I am… hard not to be feeling like that with you topless and under me, love.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out husky, and in that moment Pansy remembered a small detail from so long ago when Hermione’s voice had sounded like that, sitting in the Three Broomsticks surrounded by her friends because Hermione wanted to avoid Ron after their breakup… that look after she’d downed her shot… it made </span>
  <em>
    <span>a lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>more sense now.  And it was hot to think that Hermione might’ve wanted her, even that long ago.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we could do something about that.”  Pansy said with a smirk, and Hermione raised an eyebrow and chuckled as she twisted her hair up, which made Pansy frown slightly.  But maybe she could convince her to take it down later.  Pansy had always loved how Hermione looked when they were done together, flushed, sweating, hair a complete mess… something about it was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>intoxicating.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded, running her hands up her girlfriend’s waist, raising her shirt along with it until Hermione snatched the hem and pulled it over her head, causing Pansy’s breath to catch in her throat.  It was nothing she hadn’t seen before, just Hermione smiling above her in a black bra but it was enough to make her stifle a groan.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm.  Get down here, Granger.  Merlin knows we’ve both been waiting long enough.”  Pansy insisted, and tugged her down by her waist, crashing their lips together, making Hermione gasp in surprise as Pansy flipped their positions, running her fingers up Hermione’s exposed sides, reaching the band of her bra.  Hermione was quick to arch her back just a bit so Pansy could undo the bra and toss it behind her.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t lose that, it's my best one.”  Hermione said, sounding a little breathless as Pansy’s hands came up to cup her bare breasts.  She closed her eyes and caught her lip between her teeth at the feeling of the soft skin in her hands, running her thumb across her nipple.  Pansy felt a confident smirk play across her lips at the hitch and sigh in Hermione’s voice as it hardened under her fingertips.  Good, there was no question of where they both wanted to be right now.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean… you never need one around me.”  Pansy said with a smirk, and Hermione rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll keep it in </span>
  <em>
    <span>mind</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, her voice jumping up on the last word as Pansy nibbled and sucked across her collarbone, relishing in the way she could make this </span>
  <em>
    <span>powerful </span>
  </em>
  <span>of a witch squirm underneath her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Pans</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, her voice coming out urgent.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm?”  She asked and Hermione swallowed heavily.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione gasped, her hands twisting on the pillow above her, and Pansy raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes, sitting up on her elbows as she looked down at the witch who was resting her head against her stomach.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Touch me.”  Hermione insisted, and that was enough to nearly make Pansy’s balance go out because there was just something about the wanton way Hermione’s tone changed, and the way she so firmly said it that made Pansy feel unhinged.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, how could I deny such a lovely request.”  Pansy murmured and continued her descent down Hermione’s body, pausing occasionally to nibble or suck on a particular spot, loving how Hermione so openly gasped and moaned now that they were truly alone, no roommates to interrupt, no evil wizard looming in the distance.  Pansy ducked her head between Hermione’s thighs for a moment, leaving harsh nips on the sensitive skin, holding down Hermione’s thighs when they bucked up before lifting up for a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright if I take the rest of this off?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione nodded quickly before resting her head back down on the pillow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please fucking do</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione grated, and Pansy nodded.  She could obviously tell Hermione liked what she was doing, she wasn’t daft, but it was always good to check.  She never wanted her to feel pressured.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As you wish.”  Pansy murmured and made quick work of the remaining garments before stopping in her tracks for a moment, just admiring the woman that was so thrillingly naked underneath her.  She put a new definition to the word beauty, to the description of perfection and if Pansy had the stomach for it, she could write poetry about the sight before her.  But she’d settle for </span>
  <em>
    <span>showing </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hermione how much she appreciated it by settling on her stomach and pulling a thigh over either shoulder and running her tongue through the soaked folds, enthralled in the way Hermione’s head was thrown back as a low groan escaped her lips.  Pansy let out a grunt of approval as Hermione twisted her fingers into her short locks, tugging ever so slightly, not enough to cause any real pain.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Pans.”  Hermione gasped, and Pansy took that as her indication to go faster and she sped up her pace, circling her clit quickly, listening as her quiet groans turned into long moans, sometimes nonsense, sometimes her name, always </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>that made Pansy aware of just how wet she was herself.  She sucked the flesh between her lips and that seemed to be what did it, she could feel it before it even happened.  Hermione’s breath hitched, her back arched and her thighs trapped Pansy in, not that she minded.  She knew Hermione would never cause her lasting harm.  Pansy continued her ministrations until Hermione collapsed against the bed and yanked her up into a messy kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How was that?”  Pansy asked, and Hermione let out a full laugh before pulling Pansy back in for another kiss, holding her close as she caught her breath.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pans.  When have I </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>told you it wasn’t good?”  Hermione asked with a breathless chuckle and Pansy shrugged.  This wasn’t based off of other times, every time was a new experience that she wanted to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well never, but there could always be that day-.”  Hermione put a finger to her lips and raised an eyebrow.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just came on your tongue and you’re asking if it was any </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>?  People don’t cum that quickly when it's bad, Pans.”  Hermione reminded her, and Pansy’s face flushed.  Right.  She knew that, of course she knew that.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get that I just-.”  Hermione sighed and pulled her close, pressing a harsh kiss to her lips like she was trying to remove the words from her mouth entirely.  Well.  It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>working </span>
  </em>
  <span>very well, at least in Pansy’s opinion.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remember when we agreed this was one of times that neither of us needs to think?”  Hermione asked softly, running a hand down Pansy’s body as she leaned in to take a patch of skin between her lips, her teeth.  Pansy shivered as her eyes closed, a smile spreading across her face.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you just… use my own words against me?  And </span>
  <em>
    <span>remember </span>
  </em>
  <span>what I said the last time we had sex?”  Pansy murmured, and Hermione let out a chuckle against the skin of her neck and she felt her nod.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember what you say all the time.  It’s important to me.”  Hermione reminded her, and Pansy chuckled and shook her head, pressing a quick kiss to her lips and smiling at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merlin, you’re amazing.”  She sighed, and Hermione nodded as she ran her hand down Pansy’s body, running her fingers across the soaked flesh, forcing a sigh out of Pansy</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well so are you and… </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>wet.”  Hermione murmured, and that made Pansy just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>bit defensive.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been a while!”  Pansy snapped, and Hermione chuckle and gave her a knowing look.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhm, because this </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>isn’t an every time thing.” Hermione said with a smirk and Pansy gave her a look, struggling to keep her face neutral as she did.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>did Hermione have to be so good at this?  It made responding </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>difficult.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>complaining?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy asked, and Hermione shook her head.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not.  Just observing.”  She said, and Pansy rolled her eyes.  Of course she’d decide to observe right now.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well can you </span>
  <em>
    <span>observe </span>
  </em>
  <span>later, right now I need... </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Pansy gasped as she felt Hermione’s fingers trace over her lightly, not enough to offer any actual relief, just enough to make her want her </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>much more.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Need what, love?”  Hermione asked as she slid a finger inside her, causing Pansy to let out a high moan.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  More of that.”  She said, a little embarrassed as she realized just how high her voice had become.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doing alright?”  Hermione mumbled into her ear, and Pansy nearly rolled her eyes, and she probably would have if this didn’t feel like </span>
  <em>
    <span>heaven</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  What was it with Hermione and expecting completely coherent thought during this?</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Hermione.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>more than alright.”  Pansy gasped, and she felt Hermione add another finger and she sighed, resting her forehead against Hermione’s.  </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>hell had she ever missed this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay.  Good.”  Hermione sighed, curling her fingers inside Pansy and </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck, </span>
  </em>
  <span>if she wasn’t already clinging to Hermione she probably would’ve collapsed from that alone, Merlin’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>beard</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  After another few minutes, Pansy felt her core tighten as her head lolled back, letting out a low groan as she dug her nails into Hermione’s shoulder.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh… I-</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”  Pansy gasped as the waves of her orgasm washed over her, causing her to tremble in her love’s arms, tugging herself even closer to Hermione as she let out a long whine of the other witch’s name before going limp.  She was vaguely aware of Hermione pulling her fingers out and laying them gently down, but she didn’t open her eyes until they were laying down.  She saw Hermione staring at her so adoringly that it nearly made her heart ache.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good?”  Hermione asked, and Pansy nodded.  She didn’t even need to ask that.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always.  Come here.”  Pansy said, holding her arms out and Hermione shifted closer, pulling her close and running her fingers gently through her hair.  It was relaxing, and if it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>possible</span>
  </em>
  <span> it made her even more tired.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re tired, love.  I can tell.  Get some rest, I’ll make sure you’re safe.”  Hermione insisted, and that shouldn’t have made Pansy’s eyes droop even more, but there was just something about Hermione being there, holding her, that made her feel so secure.  Like no one and nothing could hurt her.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did I lock the door?”  Pansy asked, forcing her eyes open, and Hermione shrugged.   This was not a shrugging matter, she needed to make sure that door was locked.  Pansy went to stand, only to be pulled back down by Hermione.  Okay, so that was going to be a source of panic if it wasn’t fixed.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got it.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Colloportus</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  Hermione said, and Pansy heard the lock click.  It was always impressive to watch Hermione do wandless magic.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need to go home tonight?”  Pansy asked, her voice coming out a little slurred, and Hermione shook her head.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.  Not unless you want me to.”  Hermione said, and Pansy shook her head.  She could not imagine something that she wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>less </span>
  </em>
  <span>right now… except maybe Hermione disappearing for another month, she could for sure do without </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please stay.”  Pansy mumbled, tucking her face into Hermione’s neck and hearing her let out a small chuckle as she carefully pulled the blankets around them and laid down herself, not letting go of Pansy the whole time.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t dream of leaving.”  Hermione murmured, pressing a light kiss to her temple as she began to drift off.  The last conscious thought that Pansy had was that she could remember that time, not too long ago, when she’d sworn that there was no way she could fall in love with anyone.  If only that girl could see her now, being held so gently in the arms of the woman she loved… If that girl could see it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hermione Granger </span>
  </em>
  <span>all along, maybe she’d have been loved much sooner.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that's the end of this installment!  Thank you all so much for reading this, it was really scary when I first published it, as I've never published any of my writing before, and I'm glad people seemed to like it!</p><p>I will be releasing a sequel soon called 'You're a figment of my worst intentions', I know the title sounds sad, but I promise it'll be worth it, and then once that one is finished there will be one more story to round out the trilogy!  Again, thanks for the support and I hope this was enjoyable to read!</p><p>Yours,</p><p>Bicalamity :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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